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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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http://www.archive.org/details/addressesOOphelrich 


Addresses 


MAYOR  JAMES  D,  PHELAN 


San  Francisco,  J90K 


ADDRESSES 


BY 


MAYOR      JAMES      D.      PHELAN 


San  Francisco,  1901. 


F 


1 


Addresses    by    Mayor    James    D.    Pheean. 

SAN    FRANCISCO,    1901. 


PAGE 

The  Principles  of  Washington  and  the  Destiny  of  the  Republic    5 

Industrial  Education 21 

The  Death  of  Verdi— Memorial  Exercises 31 

The  Dedication  of  the  Goethe-Schiller  Monument 39 

Welcome  to  President  McKinley 43 

The  Death  of  President  McKinley — Memorial  Services 47 

Debate  with  Imperial  Chinese  Consul,  Ho  Yow,  at  the  Unita- 
rian Club,  on  the  Chinese  Question 49 

Valedictory  Address  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  January, 
1902 63 


98825 


THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  WASHINGTON 

AND  THE  DESTINY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 


An  Address,  Delivered  by  Mayor  James  D.  Phelan,  on  Washington's 
Birthday,  1901,  at  Metropolitan  Temple,  San  Francisco,  under 
the  Auspices  of  the  Knights  of  St.  Patrick. 


More  than  one  hundred  years  have  passed  since  the 
death  of  Washington,  and  he  is  today  the  central  figure 
in  American  history.  The  judgment  of  his  contempo- 
raries has  been  approved  by  subsequent  generations, 
and  his  birthday  is  the  rallying  point  of  freedom  in 
every  land.  He  typifies  honesty,  courage,  character,  the 
love  of  country  and  the  love  of  liberty,  as  does  no  other 
soldier- statesman  of  which  the  world  has  a  record;  and 
it  was  because  of  these  qualities  that  the  great  Irish 
orator,  Charles  Philipps,  grandly  said  of  him — and  I 
will  make  his  words  the  text  of  my  address  tonight — "No 
country  can  claim  him;  no  people  can  appropriate  him. 
The  boon  of  Providence  to  the  human  race,  his  fame  is 
eternity  and  his  residence  creation." 

We  honor  his  memory;  we  recount  his  virtues, 
which  we  would  fain  emulate;  we  recall  the  principles 
which  guided  his  public  life,  not  idly,  but  in  order  that 
they  may  exert  their  proper  influence  upon  the  destinies 
of  the  Republic.  Hence,  our  meeting  this  evening  is 
not  for  eulogy  alone.     It  is  for  patriotic  profit. 


It  is  interesting  to  the  young  men  of  today  to  learn 
that  his  equipment  was  simple,  if  his  school  was  hard. 
George  Washington,  in  addition  to  an  elementary  edu- 
cation, acquired  a  knowledge  of  surveying,  and,  from 
!ihe  necessities  of  his  employment,  he  became  familiar 
with  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  his  native  state.  This 
led  him  into  the  service  of  the  provincial  troops,  and  he 
soon  manifested  his  genius  as  a  soldier.  He  was  re- 
nowned for  his  courage  and  good  judgment  and  won 
several  engagements  with  the  French  and  Indians  in  the 
early  wars.  He  wrote  to  his  mother  that  the  whistling 
of  bullets  was  music  to  his  ears,  which  showed  his  love 
for  the  excitement  of  the  campaign,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  revealed  the  fact  that  he  seemed  to  lead  a  charmed 
life.  Frequently  exposed,  his  horses  having  been  shot 
under  him  on  more  than  one  occasion,  he  survived  every 
danger. 

The  wars  over,  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses  of  Virginia;  married  Martha  Custis,  a 
wealthy  widow,  and  settled  down  on  his  estate  at  Mount 
Vernon — property  which  belonged  to  his  father  and 
which  he  had  inherited  from  his  brother.  So  great  was 
his  reputation  as  a  soldier  and  so  sterling  the  quality  of 
his  patriotism,  that  he  was  called  to  command  the  Con- 
tinental troops  when  the  colonies  were  forced  to  take 
the  field  in  defense  of  their  liberties. 

His  task  was  a  most  arduous  one — to  discipline 
country  volunteers  unused  to  war  and  put  them  in  a 
condition  to  meet  the  trained  soldiers  of  England.  He 
had  to  urge  upon  Congress  the  measures  necessary  for 
the  raising  of  troops  and  the  equipment  of  his  army. 
Every  reyerse,  and  there  were  many,  discouraged  his  men 
and  wearied  Congress  into  inaction.   The  war  was  becom- 


ing,  on  account  of  its  cost  and  its  failures,  a  matter  of 
serious  concern;  but  Washington  never  faltered  in  his 
faith  that  the  right  would  triumph;  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
now,  in  calmly  reviewing  the  history  of  the  past,  that 
were  it  not  for  Washington,  "the  immortal  rebel," 
Congress  would  have  probably  abandoned  the  war  and 
made  terms  with  the  enemy. 

But  Washington  cheered  his  ragged  and  half-starved 
men,  huddled  together  in  the  bitter  cold  of  dreary 
winters;  he  inspired  his  Generals  with  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  success  of  their  arms,  and  was  finally  given,  by 
a  reluctant  Congress,  those  powers  which  they  had 
failed  to  wisely  exercise.  Against  superior  numbers, 
he  then  pursued  tactics  which  have  earned  him  the 
commendation  of  the  world's  great  soldiers;  attacking, 
retreating,  and  harrassing  the  enemy,  and  never  resting 
until  victory  crowned  his  courage,  his  hardships  and 
his  unfaltering  faith. 

After  the  surrender  at  Yorktown,  he  retired  to  his 
beautiful  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  where 
extensive  plantations  awaited  his  patient  care.  He  was 
no  thriftless  farmer.  He  was  most  exact  and  exacting 
in  his  business  affairs,  and  with  the  love  of  outdoor  life 
acquired  in  his  youth,  he  entered  heartily  into  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil,  and,  in  an  age  of  improvidence,  made 
his  property  yield  surprising  returns.  His  home  was 
the  hospitable  resort  of  every  visitor,  and  he  was  never 
happier  than  when  entertaining  his  friends.  Having 
earned  his  rest,  he  hesitated  to  attend  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  called  after  the  war  to  make  a  more  perfect 
union  among  the  states;  but  finally  realizing  its  impor- 
tance, he  sacrificed  his  comfort  and  cheerfully  answered 
again  the  call  of  Country.     He  made  his  pilgrimage  to 


Philadelphia  and  was  elected  unanimously  the  President 
of  the  Convention. 

Through  what  anxiety  did  he  pass!  He  fought  over 
again  his  battles  for  his  country,  and  almost  despaired 
of  satisfactory  results.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that, 
prior  to  this  time,  the  thirteen  colonies  had  been  bound 
together  by  the  slender  ties  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, and  no  man  realized  more  keenly  than  Washington 
the  inadequacy  of  such  a  bond.  As  a  soldier,  he  knew 
what  a  lack  of  cohesion  in  his  army,  jealousies  and  dis- 
sensions among  his  Generals  and  insufficient  authority 
meant;  and  he  finally  maintained  that,  unless  a  Nation 
were  created  out  of  the  thirteen  sovereignties,  strong  to 
preserve  its  integrity  and  dignity  and  enforce  its  powers, 
the  fruits  of  the  War  of  Independence  would  be  surely 
lost. 

He  insisted  on  mutual  concessions.  The  work  of  the 
Convention  completed,  he  accepted  it  with  confidence, 
for,  after  acrimonious  debates  and  the  expression  of 
apparently  irreconcilable  views  among  the  members  of 
the  Convention,  Washington,  by  his  quiet  influence  and 
by  the  weight  of  his  exalted  character,  brought  order 
out  of  confusion,  and  so  helped  to  create  what  Gladstone 
has  described  as  "  the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck 
off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man." 

Then,  when  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution came  before  the  states,  requiring  them  to 
surrender  some  of  their  powers  to  a  central  government, 
which  they  feared,  born  of  their  experience  with  King 
George,  it  was  only  the  expectation  that  Washington 
would  be  the  first 'President  under  it  that  allayed  their 
apprehensions  and  won  for  it  their  approval.  In  fact, 
it  was  not  until  after  Washington's   inauguration  that 


Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  gave  to  it  their 
adhesion. 

Called  to  the  Presidency  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  Electoral  College,  he  again,  leaving  his  beloved 
home  and  the  simplicity  of  his  rural  life,  entered  on  his 
duties,  impelled  not  by  a  love  of  power  or  by  the  grati- 
ficaton  of  a  personal  ambition,  but  amidst  warring  ele- 
ments only  held  in  abeyance  by  the  public  necessity,  to 
establish  on  a  permanent  basis  the  Republic  which  he 
had  created  on  the  field  and  perpetuated  in  the  council. 

Washington,  the  incarnation  of  the  idea  for  which  his 
patriotic  soldiers  fought  and  died,  assumed  the  Presi- 
dency and  ingratiated,  as  no  other  man  could  have 
done,  the  love  of  the  Constitution  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people. 

We  can  hardly  appreciate  the  difficulties  of  the  situa- 
tion. The  glory  of  these  later  days,  however,  conveys 
no  impression  whatever  of  the  inauspicious  entry  of 
Washington  into  the  domain  of  civil  power. 

Private  and  public  credit  was  dead;  the  country  was 
burdened  with  debt  by  the  long  and  exhausting  war; 
agriculture  and  commerce  were  paralyzed,  and  these 
were  the  principal  resources  of  the  people.  The  con- 
structive work  of  government,  requiring  patience  and 
sound  judgment,  was  begun.  Treaties  had  to  be  made 
with  foreign  powers,  which  had  no  respect  for  our 
strength.  The  labors  of  administration  had  none  of  the 
glamor  of  war,  and  a  universal  depression  sorely  tried, 
in  those  sad  days,  the  patriotism  and  love  of  independ- 
ence to  which  the  people  had  offered  up,  as  a  sacrifice, 
their  lives  and  their  fortunes. 

We  are  reaping  today  the  fruits  of  the  fortitude  of 
Washington.     For  eight  long  years,  as  President,  he 


labored  in  making  us  a  Nation;  and  the  impetus  given 
the  country  by  his  unselfish  labors  has  borne  us  to  the 
heights  of  civic  and  material  greatness,  from  which  we 
now  review  the  history  of  the  past. 

He  survived  his  public  services  a  short  year,  and, 
when  he  died,  the  immortal  words  sprang  spontaneously 
to  the  lips  of  his  eulogist  in  the  House  of  Bepresenta- 
tives — Washington,  easily  first  then  as  he  is  today — 
"  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen." 

For  one  hundred  years,  on  the  recurrence  of  February 
22d,  the  day  that  gave  him  to  his  country,  the  people 
have  feebly  endeavored  to  express  their  gratitude  and,  to 
the  growing  generation,  describe  his  worth. 

His  countrymen  valued  him  for  his  stupendous  servi- 
ces, but  European  commentators  marvel  most  at  his  for- 
bearance. With  the  examples  of  Csesarism  before  them, 
they  could  not  understand  the  simplicity  of  life  and 
lofty  patriotism  which  caused  Washington  to  surrender 
power  when  his  work  was  done. 

Byron  exultingly  exclaimed: 

"  Where  may  the  weary  eye  repose 

When  gazing  on  the  great, 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows 

Nor  despicable  state? 
Yes,  one— the  first — the  last — the  best— 
The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 

Whom  envy  dared  not  hate, 
Bequeath  the  name  of  Washington 
To  make  men  blush  there  was  but  one." 

Lord  Brougham  very  truly  said  that  the  test  of  the 
progress  of  mankind  in  wisdom  and  virtue  will  be  found 
in  the  appreciation  of  the  character  of  Washington;  just, 

10 


I  say,  as  the  Eepublic  of  America  may  be  measured 
today  by  its  adherence  to  his  farewell  advice. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  allowed  no 
usurper  to  tarnish  their  inheritance  from  Washington; 
they  have  generously  rewarded  disinterested  public 
service;  they  have  cemented  in  their  blood  the  National 
Union,  and  should  the  Father  of  his  Country  return 
today  and  follow  the  development  of  his  ideas  and 
behold  the  extent  and  power  of  the  United  States,  the 
several  State  organizations — forty-five  instead  of  the 
original  thirteen — acting  harmoniously  within  their 
separate  spheres,  he  would  bow  approvingly.  His  hope 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  his  desire  for  a  stronger 
union,  have  been  realized.  But  that  is  not  all.  I  believe 
that  the  greatest  fear  of  Washington  for  the  future  of 
his  country  lay  in  its  relations  with  foreign  powers  and 
in  the  greed  of  empire,  which  experience  had  proved  to 
be  the  grave  of  Eepublics. 

He  repeatedly  warned  his  countrymen  against  these 
dangers;  and  now,  a  century  after  his  death,  we  invoke 
his  shade  to  test  our  progress  in  political  wisdom.  We 
call  for  the  chart,  by  which  the  Kepublic  has  sailed  so 
successfully,  to  see  if  we  are  near  the  rocks.  That 
chart,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is  Washington's  farewell 
address.  When  he  was  about  to  surrender  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  his  successor  and  sympa- 
thizer, John  Adams,  and  to  retire  in  his  serene  age  to 
the  joys  of  private  life,  with  no  ambition  ungratified, 
inspired  by  the  purest  motives  of  patriotism,  he  calmly 
wrote  an  address  to  his  fellow- citizens,  which  embodies 
the  wisdom  of  the  ages  applied  to  the  destiny  of  the 
Eepublic. 

Vain,  indeed,  would  be  our  reverence  for  Washington, 

11 


if  we  did  not  regard  that  document  as  the  blessed  herit- 
age from  a  loving  father. 

What  has  been  accomplished,  and  concerning  which 
he  was  so  solicitous,  is  a  strong  government,  the  taming 
of  party  spirit,  the  encouragement  of  religion,  morality 
and  education,  and  the  establishment  of  the  public 
credit;  but,  what  can  we  say  of  our  adherence  to  his 
advice  to  preserve  separate  and  independent  the  three 
great  functions  of  the  government,  the  Executive,  the 
Legislative  and  the  Judiciary;  to  act  with  good  faith 
and  justice  towards  all  nations,  and  to  avoid  entangling 
alliances  ? 

It  may  be  said,  until  the  last  few  years,  we  have  also 
observed  his  sage  counsel  in  these  respects;  but  latterly 
there  has  been  a  marked  disposition  to  depart  from  it. 
In  fact,  have  we  not  already  departed  from  it?  Not,  I 
trust,  have  we  gone  so  far  but  that  there  is  yet  time  to 
confess  our  error  and  mend  our  ways. 

While  as  to  common  law  rights,  in  the  assertion  of 
which  the  Colonies  rebelled,  England  was  our  model;  as 
to  organization,  policy  and  administration  England  was 
our  warning  and  dread. 

The  arbitrary  acts  of  the  King  in  Council  had  taught 
us  the  lesson  of  tyranny.  Montesqui  had  said  that  as 
Rome  and  Sparta  had  lost  their  liberties  and  perished, 
so  the  English  Constitution  would  lose  its  liberty  and 
perish — it  would  perish  as  soon  as  the  legislative  power 
had  become  more  corrupt  than  the  executive.  Why  did 
-Montesqui  believe  that  British  liberty  was  wrapped  up 
in  the  integrity  of  Parliament?  Because  Parliament  is 
absolute  and  sovereign  in  its  powers,  and  there  is  no 
check  upon  its  action.  James  Bryce  defines  it  as  fol- 
lows :     "  The  British  Parliament  has  always  been  and 


12 


remains  now  a  sovereign  and  constituent  assembly.  It 
can  make  and  unmake  every  law,  change  the  form  of 
government  or  the  succession  of  the  Crown,  interfere 
with  the  course  of  justice,  extinguish  the  most  sacred 
private  rights  of  the  citizen.  Between  it  and  the  people 
at  large  there  is  no  legal  distinction,  because  the  whole 
plenitude  of  the  people's  rights  and  powers  reside  in  it, 
just  as  the  whole  nation  were  present  within  the  cham- 
ber where  it  sits.  In  point  of  legal  theory  it  is  the 
Nation,  being  the  historical  successor  of  the  Folk  Moot 
of  our  Teutonic  forefathers.  Both  practically  and 
legally,  it  is  today  the  only  and  efficient  depository  of 
the  authority  of  the  Nation,  and  is  therefore,  within  its 
sphere  of  law,  irresponsible  and  omnipotent." 

For  these,  among  other  reasons,  the  people,  in  con- 
structing their  constitutional  Bepublic,  delegated  only 
limited  powers  to  the  President  and  to  Congress,  defin- 
ing their  spheres  of  action,  and  even  provided  for  two 
houses,  in  order  that  one  might  be  a  check  upon  the 
other.  The  Judiciary  was  made  another  and  sepa- 
rate department,  to  regulate  the  system  and  keep  legis- 
lative powers,  National  and  State,  within  their  prescribed 
limits,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  guard  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  Executive. 

But  we  find  that  usurpation  of  authority  has  been 
attempted.  The  President  or  the  Congress,  in  asserting 
the  right  to  impose  despotic  government  upon  the  people 
of  our  newly  acquired  territory,  are  following  the  very  lines 
pursued  by  England  towards  this  country  in  the  days  of 
"Washington,  and  for  whose  successful  resistance  to 
which  we  honor  him  tonight.  While  England  had  per- 
haps the  legal  power — although  James  Otis  in  his  great 
argument  held  that  even  the  English  Constitution  did 

13 


not  permit  taxation  without  representation — it  certainly 
did  not  have  the  moral  right.  We  have  neither  the  legal 
power  nor  the  moral  right  to  acquire  and  rule  depend- 
ent colonies  as  vassal  states.  It  would  be  preposterous 
to  imagine  that  George  Washington  should  have  helped 
to  make  a  constitution  which  conferred  power  on  the 
President  or  the  Congress  to  enslave  other  peoples.  All 
America  asked  of  England  was  justice,  and  so  Washing- 
ton enjoined  upon  us,  in  his  farewell  address,  the 
observance  of  "  justice  toward  all  nations." 

And  yet,  listen  to  the  words  which  have  been 
spoken  in  Congress  and  to  Congress,  and  apparently 
accepted  by  the  government  as  its  policy.  So  spoke 
recently  a  member  of  Congress:  "  We  hold  the  islands 
as  a  common  possession,  province,  colony,  territory  or 
whatever  it  may  be  called,  belonging  to  the  States, 
which  in  their  confederate  capacity  constitute  the 
National  Union.  We  may  deal  with  and  govern  these 
new  possessions  as  we  please,  unrestricted,  except  by 
our  intelligent  ideas  of  humanity,  civilization,  liberty 
and  good  government.  We  may  govern  them  with  a 
government  absolutely  despotic  in  its  character." 

That  was  the  attitude  of  England  in  colonial  days, 
and  against  which  Washington  has  warned  us  again 
and  again.  England  was  taught  her  lesson  by  us;  shall 
we  not  be  taught  ourselves  by  our  own  teaching? 

Daniel  Webster  said  in  the  Senate,  March  23,  1848 — 
are  his  words  prophetic?  "Arbitrary  governments  may 
have  territories  and  distant  possessions,  because  arbi- 
trary governments  may  rule  them  by  different  laws  and 
different  systems.  We  can  do  no  such  thing.  They 
must  be  of  us,  part  of  us,  or  else  strangers.  I  think  I 
see  a  course  adopted  which  is  likely  to  turn  the  consti- 

14 


tution  of  the  land  into  a  deformed  monster,  into  a  curse 
rather  than  a  blessing;  in  fact,  a  frame  of  an  unequal 
government,  not  founded  on  popular  representation, 
not  founded  on  equality,  but  on  the  grossest  inequality; 
and  I  think  that  this  process  will  go  on,  or  that  there  is 
danger  that  it  will  go  on,  until  this  Union  shall  fall  to 
pieces." 

James  Anthony  Froude,  the  great  historian,  speaking 
to  his  countrymen,  said:  "  The  early  Romans  possessed 
the  faculty  of  self-government  beyond  any  people  of 
whom  we  have  historical  knowledge,  with  one  exception 
of  ourselves.  In  virtue  of  their  temporal  freedom,  they 
became  the  most  powerful  nation  in  the  known  world; 
and  their  liberties  perished  only  when  Rome  became 
the  mistress  of  conquered  races,  to  whom  she  was  unwill- 
ing or  unable  to  extend  her  privileges."  The  imperial 
tendencies  of  England,  he  says,  may  lead  her  over  the 
same  course  to  the  same  end.  "  If  there  is  one  lesson 
which  history  clearly  teaches  it  is  this :  that  free  nations 
cannot  govern  subject  provinces.  If  they  are  unwilling 
or  unable  to  admit  their  dependencies  to  a  share  of  their 
own  constitution,  the  constitution  itself  will  fall  in  pieces 
from  mere  incompetence  for  its  duties." 

England  was  not  willing  to  treat  its  colonies  with 
equal  justice.  Why?  For  the  very  same  reason  that 
we  are  endeavoring  to  justify  our  attitude  towards  the 
Porto  Ricans  and  Filipinos.  Inspired  by  their  love  of 
Washington,  they,  a  deluded  people,  believed,  alas!  that 
a  just  Providence  had  made  America  their  deliverer. 

Let  us  watch  the  course  of  Empire,  lest  the  Empire 
outrun  the  Republic. 

One  of  the  causes  of  the  Revolution  which  gave 
Washington   to   the  world — to  France,  to  Ireland,  to 

15 


South  Africa,  to  Cuba,  to  Porto  Eico  and  the  Philip- 
pines alike  (because  "no  country  can  claim  him;  no 
people  can  appropriate  him,"  and  because  he  was  "  the 
boon  of  Providence  to  the  human  race") — was  the 
appointment  of  a  Commission  by  England  (witness 
how  history  persists  in  repeating  itself)  to  provide  "  the 
means  of  making  the  Colonies  most  useful  and  benefi- 
cial to  England;  to  enquire  into  the  staples  and  manu- 
factures which  may  be  encouraged  there,  and  the  means 
of  diverting  them  from  trades  which  may  prove  beneficial 
to  England."  As  a  result,  colonial  trade  and  manufac- 
tures were  dwarfed  or  destroyed,  just  as  the  industries 
of  Ireland  have  been  suppressed  and  her  people  dis- 
persed. But  the  Americans  had  to  make  their  stand, 
just  as  the  Boers  are  doing  to  day  in  South  Africa. 
Shall  we  not  be  generous  in  our  treatment  of  the  Fili- 
pinos and  charitable  in  judging  of  them? 

The  constitution  was  adopted  to  secure  the  blessings 
of  liberty,  and  not  to  secure  j the  blessings  of  trade.  I 
submit,  that  colonies  held  in  subjection  outside  the 
constituion  for  tribute  and  trade  purposes  will,  as 
shown  by  the  experiences  of  history,  ultimately  destroy 
the  liberties  of  our  Nation  and  it  will  perish.  I  hold 
that  the  interests  of  trade  are  best  subserved,  in  the 
words  of  Washington,  by  observing  good  faith  and 
justice  towards  all  peoples,  which  we  are  not  doing. 
Washington  said  wisely  of  our  trade  policy  as  "diffus- 
ing and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the  streams  of 
commerce,  but  forcing  nothing." 

What  would  he  say  of  the  policy,  alike  fatuous  and 
criminal,  of  exterminating  a  race  of  people — educated, 
intelligent  and  liberty -loving — to  make  way  for  the  sale 
of  goods  or  for  the  occupation  of  their  territory  by  the 

16 


"  Sons  of  Liberty,"  for  such  were  his  Americans,  the 
Colonists,  called?  Are  there  no  other  Sons  of  Liberty 
in  the  wide  world?  Does  only  Washington's  and  Jef- 
ferson's government  derive  its  "just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed?" 

Washington  foresaw  the  greatness  of  the  Republic. 
In  twenty  years  from  the  date  of  his  administra- 
tion, he  said,  the  country  would  be  in  a  position, 
by  reason  of  its  growth  and  resources,  to  assume  an 
equal  position  among  the  nations  of  the  world  and 
enforce  its  rights,  it  necessary,  by  war.  He  foresaw 
continental  expansion.  He  said  our  "  peculiar  and 
remote  situation,"  occupying  this  continent,  made  us 
strong  and  independent.  He  urged  that  Europe  "has  a 
set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none  or  a  very 
remote  relation."  "  The  great  rule,"  he  said,  "  for  us  in 
regard  to  foreign  nations  is,  in  extending  our  commer- 
cial relations,  to  have  with  them  as  little  political  con- 
nection as  possible." 

The  wisdom  of  this  policy  is  certainly  as  true  now  as 
it  was  then.  If  we  favor  one  nation  we  excite  the  ani- 
mosity of  others.  On  the  continent,  nations  form  com- 
binations, as  the  Triple  Alliance,  excluding  from  equal 
advantages  some  and  conferring  benefits  on  others. 
There,  it  may  be  necessary  in  the  game  of  diplomacy, 
to  preserve  the  balance  of  power;  but  so  long  as  we  hold 
our  unique  position  on  this  continent,  by  simply  exclud- 
ing Europe  from  interference  and  refusing  on  our 
part  to  interfere  in  its  affairs,  we  avert  wasteful  wars 
and  best  promote  commerce  and  civilization.  We  hold 
the  two  Americas  sacred  for  Republican  government. 
It  is  equally  our  duty  and  our  interest  to  do  so.  What 
becomes  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  when  we  make  Asiatic 
excursions  ? 

17 


But,  in  spite  of  our  traditional  Washingtonian  policy, 
there  is  even  a  movement  to  form  an  English  alliance. 
How  truly  do  Washington's  words  fit  the  present  condi- 
tions: "  It  is  a  folly  for  one  nation  to  look  for  disinter- 
ested favors  from  another;  that  it  must  pay  with  a 
portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept 
under  that  character  *  *  *  and  be  reproached  with 
ingratitude  for  not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no 
greater  error  than  to  expect  or  calculate  upon  real 
favors  from  nation  to  nation." 

In  other  words,  we  must  not  surrender  the  advantages 
of  our  position  and  involve  ourselves  in  the  troubles  of 
others;  treat  all  nations  fairly  and  equally,  and  expect — 
nay,  demand — the  same  treatment  in  return.  No  excep- 
tion can  be  made  to  such  a  course.  Why  should  Eng- 
land be  preferred?  The  great  Republic  of  the  West, 
whose  citizenship  is  composed  of  the  people  of  all 
countries,  shall  not  be  used  to  support  England  in  its 
contentions  with  either  the  weak  or  the  strong,  nor 
save  it  from  the  consequences  of  its  own  folly  or 
avarice. 

We  can  well  afford  to  stand  alone,  and  we  want  to  be 
let  alone.  That  is  the  Monroe  doctrine.  No  country 
was  ever  less  dependent — even  upon  commerce.  Wash- 
ington was  the  father  of  the  policy  of  neutrality.  When 
Jefferson  wanted  an  alliance  with  France,  the  Sage  of 
Monticello,  in  the  heat  of  debate,  accused  Washington 
of  English  predilections,  to  which  Washington  replied, 
that  if  such  were  true,  he  would  be  the  most  deceitful 
and  uncandid  of  living  men,  for  he  had  given  Jefferson 
his  views  on  that'  subject  "  with  an  energy  which  could 
not  be  mistaken." 

No;  neutrality  was  Washington's  idea.     It  is  now  the 

18 


American  idea,  and  the  logic  of  events  has  proved  and 
will  further  prove  its  wisdom. 

When  the  Eepublicans  and  Federalists,  after  Wash- 
ington's death,  moved  by  French  and  English  prejudices 
respectively,  had  fought  out  the  issue,  Henry  Clay,  as 
the  leader  of  the  new  generation,  re-established  the 
principle  and  the  policy.  The  vindication  of  Washing- 
ton was  complete. 

And  yet,  the  Father  of  his  Country  had  rebellious 
children.  His  path  was  not  strewn  with  roses  and 
bedecked  with  garlands,  as  the  schoolboy  believes.  One 
political  critic  said:  "He  is  arbitrary,  avaricious, 
ostentatious.  Without  skill  as  a  soldier,  he  has  crept 
into  fame  by  the  places  he  has  held.  History  will  tear 
the  pages  devoted  to  his  praise."  The  tone  of  opposi- 
tion journals,  throughout  the  country,  is  fairly  shown 
by  the  comments  of  one  on  his  retirement  from  the 
Presidency:  "  When  a  retrospect  is  made  of  his  admin- 
istration, it  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  astonishment  that 
a  single  individual  should  have  cankered  the  principles 
of  republicanism  in  an  enlightened  people,  just  emerged 
from  the  gulf  of  despotism,  and  should  have  carried  his 
designs  against  the  public  liberties  so  far  as  to  have  put 
in  jeopardy  their  very  existence.  Such,  however,  are  the 
facts.  This  day  ought  to  be  a  jubilee  in  the  United 
States." 

"Such  are  the  facts,"  indeed!  The  facts  are  that 
partisan  blindness  not  only  does  not  see,  but  does  not 
want  to  see.  The  facts  are  that  Washington  was  greater 
than  his  party,  because  he  served  an  ideal,  which  was 
his  conception,  in  that  formative  and  critical  era,  of 
what  his  country  should  be,  which  partisan  detractors 
were  too  small  to  understand;  and,  instead  of  his  retire- 

19 


ment  from  public  life  being  made  a  day  of  jubilee,  it  lias 
come  to  pass  that  his  entrance  to  the  world's  stage,  his 
birthday,  is  the  day  dearer  than  any  other  connected 
with  great  names  in  the  estimation  of  his  countrymen. 
It  is,  in  fact,  the  only  birthday  of  soldier  or  statesman 
that  we  do  celebrate. 

Washington's  fame  is  secure.  Is  his  country  equally 
secure?  As  long  as  we  can  honestly  accept  his  farewell 
advice,  we  shall  avoid  the  rocks  upon  which  Republics 
have  split;  when,  however,  we  depart  from  it  and  aban- 
don the  American  idea,  for  which  Washington  pre-emi- 
nently stands,  we  may  well  be  apprehensive  of  the 
dangers  which  beset  us  and  which  will  perhaps  over- 
whelm us. 

Before  this  country  had  entered  upon  its  Colonial 
policy,  the  United  States  had  been  described  as  a  gov- 
ernment without  a  precedent  in  history  and  without  a 
parallel.  Let  our  people  understand  what  this  signifies, 
and  not  become  what  other  nations  have  been  and  are, 
and  share  their  common  fate.  Let  our  peculiar  insti- 
tutions and  the  National  policy,  which  we  have  received 
in  trust,  be  transmitted  unimpaired  to  posterity,  as 
Washington's  boon  to  the  human  race. 


20 


INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION 

OR 

The  Advantages  of  Trade  Education  for  Boys 


An  address  delivered  by  James  D.  Phelan,  Mayor  of  San  Francisco, 
before  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  San  Francisco, 
September  10,  1901,  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  a  Night 
Trade  School.  

Printed  by  the  Association. 


What  interests  men  and  women  who  are  hard  at  work 
in  a  great  city,  in  whose  life  and  whose  development  they 
are  wrapped  up  and  of  which  they  become,  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  a  part,  is  the  industrial  possibilities  of 
the  place  and  what  the  future  holds. 

From  the  beginning,  the  peaceful  destiny  of  America 
has  been  its  most  prominent  characteristic.  When  the 
Old  World  was  torn  with  turmoil,  wars  and  social 
upheavals,  blighted  trade  and  scattered  commerce, 
America  was  looked  upon  as  the  certain  future  field  of 
the  world's  greatest  industrial  and  commercial  achieve- 
ments. It  appeared,  indeed,  an  inviting  field  for  man's 
enterprise  and  industry,  where  he  could  work  without 
molestation  and  reap  his  reward. 

Napoleon,  after  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  expressing 
a  sentiment  which  no  doubt  inspired  him  to  make 
favorable    terms   with   Jefferson,   exclaimed:    "I   have 

21 


given  to  England  a  rival   which  will  sooner  or   late 
humble  her  pride." 

When  the  social  fabric  of  France  was  shattered  and 
an  exhausted  people,  drained  of  apparently  every 
resource,  stood  with  empty  hands,  as  the  gaunt  monu- 
ments of  a  destroyed  industrial  fabric,  Carlyle,  mocking 
Burke's  words,  said:  "The  age  of  chivalry  is  gone  and 
could  not  but  go,  having  now  produced  the  still  more 
indomitable  age  of  hunger." 

All  eyes  were  turned  towards  the  New  World. 

At  that  time  there  were  practically  no  manufactures. 
Life  was  comparatively  simple.  Amusements  were  few. 
Agriculture  was  the  principal  occupation  of  the  people. 
But  by  degrees,  with  the  growth  of  manufactures,  cities 
developed  wonderfully  in  population,  numbers  and 
extent,  until  the  habits  of  the  race  were  changed  and 
the  status  of  man  as  a  tool-using  animal  was  re-estab- 
lished on  new  lines. 

Machinery  fostered  this  new  tendency  by  cutting 
down  the  numbers  engaged  in  and  the  remuneration 
paid  for  agricultural  employment,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
gave  enormous  scope  to  the  manufacturing  enterprises 
on  the  other.  And  those  changes  are  going  on  today. 
Men  lose  employment  in  the  cities,  by  reason  of  labor 
saving  devices,  and  skilled  mechanics  have  to  learn  new 
arts  or  trades  in  order  to  subsist.  While  this  works 
great  individual  hardship  in  many  instances,  still  it  is 
something  that  can  not  and  will  not  be  restrained,  and 
which  will  ultimately,  by  cheapening  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion and  adding  to  the  comforts  of  life,  compensate  for 
apparent  injury  and  loss.  Another  field  opens  from  the 
one  that  is  closed;  and  yet  it  is  hard  to  convince  the 
disemployed  men  of  these  facts. 

In   the   life   of   Benjamin   Franklin  you  will  read  a 


curious  story  of  how  one  morning,  while  Franklin  was 
in  London,  t  King  decided  to  wear  his  own  natural 
hair.  Up  to  that  time  every  gentleman  wore  a  wig.  At 
once  the  wigmakers  held  a  meeting  and  petitioned  his 
majesty  to  cease  from  wearing  his  own  natural  hair, 
because  their  trade  would  be  destroyed.  They  enumer- 
ated the  number  of  •  men  engaged  in  it  and  said,  as  a 
final  and  conclusive  argument,  that  in  their  places 
French  barbers  and  hairdressers  would  come  across 
the  channel  and  take  the  bread  out  of  their  mouths  and 
the  shingles  off  their  roofs. 

Now  what  would  you  have  done  in  that  case?  The 
King  continued  to  wear  his  natural  hair,  and  every  gen- 
tleman in  the  land  followed  his  example,  and  the  wig- 
makers  lost  their  employment;  but,  in  the  course  of  a 
short  time  the  wigmakers'  sons  became  barbers  and 
hairdressers,  and  found  a  more  extensive  employment, 
because,  whereas  a  wig  would  last  for  a  very  long  time, 
the  natural  hair  of  a  man  will  grow  and  be  in  need  of 
dressing,  and  probably  in  the  United  Kingdom  a  great 
deal  more  money  was  spent  for  this  reason  in  the  bar- 
ber's chair  than  formerly  ever  had  been  spent  in  the 
wigmaker's  shop. 

So  men  engaged  in  industrial  employments  may  be 
shortsighted  in  their  demands;  and  recently  I  saw,  to 
my  surprise,  that  an  association  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Engineers  and  Trainmen,  I  believe,  petitioned  the  leg- 
islature of  one  of  the  Middle  Western  States  not  to 
reduce  fares  and  freights  because  their  wages  would 
possibly  be  reduced.  I  do  not  know  what  the  legislature 
did,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  if  it  reduced  fares  and 
freights,  the  increased  volume  of  business  would  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  which  the  petitioners  had  imagined 
would  ensue. 

23 


It  is  always  a  safe  rule  to  consider  the  interests  of  the 
greatest  number  in  all  these  matters,  because,  in  case 
railroad  fares  and  freights  are  oppressive,  a  man  can  not 
get  his  goods  to  market,  or,  in  getting  them  to  market, 
will  have  to  make  a  forced  contribution  to  the  common 
carrier,  which  absorbs  his  profit  and  visits  the  commu- 
nity with  chronic  depression  and  perennial  hard  times; 
and  no  employe  is  either  safely  secure  or  properly  re- 
warded in  his  employment  where  whole  communities  of 
men  suffer  from  a  real  grievance  or  wrong. 

With  the  changing  times,  fashion  inviting  and  inven- 
tion compelling  change,  there  is  no  certainty  in 
employment  unless  a  deep  foundation  in  technical 
knowledge  is  laid,  or  a  man's  versatility  be  broad  and 
his  adaptability  to  new  conditions  be  easy. 

A  man  must,  in  these  days,  be  progressive  and  move 
with  the  age  in  which  he  lives.  There  is  nothing  so 
stable  that  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  change  or  to  the 
exigencies  of  accident.  You  will  remember  in  Hamlet 
how  the  two  old  grave-diggers  conversed.  One  pro- 
pounds the  conundrum,  "What  is  he  that  builds 
stronger  than .  either  the  mason,  the  shipwright  or  the 
carpenter?"  and  the  answer  is  "The  grave-digger, 
because  the  house  that  he  makes  lasts  till  doomsday." 

That  seemed  a  good  answer  in  Hamlet's  time,  but  in 
our  modern  cities  we  move  even  the  graves  of  the  dead; 
cemeteries  change  their  locations,  and  even  the  grave 
digger  himself  is  superseded  by  the  fireman  who  attends 
the  crematory! 

Certainly  one  of  the  great  duties  of  a  well  ordered 
municipality,  which  absorbs  in  its  greedy  maw  such 
vast  populations,  tempting  the  farmer's  boy  from  his 
native  fields,  and  bringing  up  a  progeny  of  its  own 
which  throngs  its  streets,  is  to  keep  everyone,  if  possi- 

24 


ble,  well  employed.  The  want  of  skill  is  a  serious 
handicap  in  the  industrial  world,  and  the  hard  life  of 
the  seaman  keeps  the  city  bred  boy  at  home.  With  us, 
employment  on  the  sea  has  its  drawbacks;  on  the  land, 
its  limitations.  But  in  this  great  port  training  ships 
should  accustom  the  boys  to  the  sea  and  teach  them  the 
duties  of  the  sailor,  so  that  they  will  ultimately  take  the 
place  of  the  hardened  Jack  tar  and  give  the  merchant 
marine  service  a  class  of  men  worthy  that  fascinating 
and  venturesome,  honorable  and  heroic  vocation,  which 
in  all  ages  has  been  the  forerunner  and  the  feeding 
stream  of  national  prestige  and  commercial  supremacy. 

But  in  order  to  have  trade  we  must  give  as  well  as 
receive;  and  the  city  that  produces  nothing,  nothing 
shall  she  have.  The  commerce  of  San  Francisco  is  with 
the  world,  but  more  particularly  with  the  American 
coast,  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  the  great  Oriental 
shores  beyond,  and  their  wants  we  must  studiously  cul- 
tivate. But  in  order  to  compete  in  the  markets  of  the 
world  we  must  produce  the  best,  or  as  good  as  the  best; 
and  in  order  to  give  employment  to  our  people  and 
bring  wealth  to  our  community,  we  can  not  continue,  as 
we  have  been  doing,  in  purchasing  goods  made  in  Ger- 
many and  in  France  and  in  England,  or  continue  to 
import  skilled  labor  whenever  any  manufacturing 
enterprise  is  projected. 

The  secret  of  the  success  of  the  great  European  cities, 
among  other  things,  consists  very  largely  in  something 
that  we  have  not  fostered,  nor  has  any  American  com- 
munity conspicuously  encouraged,  and  that  is  the 
establishment  of  schools  to  give  trade  and  technical 
education.  When  we  mention  the  name  of  Paris,  we  at 
once  conjure  up  in  our  imagination  everything  that  is 
dainty,  beautiful  and  artistic;  and  looking  for  the  source 

25 


of  Parisian  success,  we  at  once  see  that,  even  in  the 
primary  schools,  manual  training,  the  rudiments  of 
design  and  familiarity  with  tools  is  inculcated.  From 
the  primary  school  the  pupil  may  go,  at  thirteen,  into  a 
trade  as  an  apprentice,  and  provision  is  made  for  the 
continuance  of  his  studies,  either  in  the  every  day 
classes  or  in  night  schools.  If  he  desires  to  qualify  for 
the  civil  service  of  his  country,  there  are  high  schools 
for  that  purpose.  If  he  goes  in  for  a  skilled  trade,  there 
are  professional  colleges  to  impart  technical  knowledge; 
and  they  all  bear  directly  on  the  trades  which  are  pros- 
perously conducted  in  France.  They  teach  work  in 
wood  and  iron  and  in  the  decorative  arts.  They  teach 
chemistry  and  physics,-  furniture  making,  and  uphol- 
stery, printing,  lithography,  bookbinding,  photography, 
photogravure,  and  many  new  mechanical  branches  of 
the  reproductive  arts.  There  are  schools  for  girls,  in 
which  dressmaking  and  millinery,  and  various  other 
industrial  arts,  as  well  as  the  domestic  occupations,  are 
made  the  objects  of  patient  care. 

But  the  peculiarity  of  these  schools  is  that  they  teach 
those  industries  which  are  best  adapted  to  the  localities 
in  which  the  schools  are  established;  as  in  Lille,  in  the 
north  of  France,  for  example,  young  men  are  trained 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  great  textile  and  mechanical 
industries  which  thrive  in  that  region.  And  what  we 
say  of  France  can  also  be  said  of  England  and  Scotland. 
In  Glasgow  trade  schools  directly  promote  the  ship- 
building, the  chemical  and  the  textile  manufactures  of 
Clyde  Valley.  The  Manchester  municipal  technical 
schools  include  a  great  spinning  and  weaving  school,  in 
which  everything  pertaining  to  those  industries  is 
taught  in  such  a  manner  as  to  assure  the  maintenance 
of  Manchester's  supremacy  in  the  textile  industries.    A 

26 


school  of  art  and  design  and  several  important  schools 
of  mechanical  arts  and  engineering,  and  practical  trades 
are  also  established. 

The  most  recent  authority  on  these  subjects  says  that 
England  now  feels  that  she  has  found,  in  technical  edu- 
cation, the  best  form  of  protection  for  her  industries. 
Certainly  that  protection  which  comes  from  the  merit 
of  the  article  itself,  commanding  a  purchaser  by  its 
superiority,  is  a  protection  that  will  be  superior  to  all 
statutes;  and,  as  we  have  seen  in  too  many  instances, 
enables  the  article  to  leap  over  every  barrier  that  is 
raised  between  it  and  the  market. 

The  complaint  which  has  been  made  about  our  edu- 
cation is  that  it  is  of  such  a  character  that  it  unfits  men 
for  manual  toil  rather  than  qualifies  them  for  it;  and  as 
productive  or  other  labor  must  be  the  lot  of  the  vast 
majority  of  men,  and  as  it  is  desirable  that  it  be  so  for 
the  individual's  own  good,  aud  for  the  advancement  and 
prosperity  of  the  country,  the  character  and  form  of 
education  becomes  a  matter  of  most  vital  importance  to 
the  welfare  of  city  and  state.  The  University  of  Cali- 
fornia was  the  recipient  of  land  grants  conditional  upon 
its  devoting  a  large  part  of  its  work,  which  it  is  doing, 
to  the  application  of  scientific  knowledge  to  the  com- 
mercial, agricultural  and  manufacturing  employments. 

The  Board  o£  Education  of  this  city  has  successfully 
introduced  a  system  of  manual  training.  The  Lick  and 
Cogswell  schools  in  San  Francisco,  with  a  small  capac- 
ity it  is  true,  are  working  on  practical  lines,  and  recently 
h  e  Wilmerding  School,  of  a  similar  character,  has  been 
established,  and  tonight  your  own;  hence,  the  future 
gives  glimmerings  of  promise. 

In  the  recent  past  there  were  no  facilities  to  acquire 
a  knowledge   of  a   trade   or   a  profession  or  an  art  in 

27 


schools  where  men  are  unconsciously  guided  as  in  the 
public  schools  today;  or  where  young  boys  and  girls 
might  apply  themselves  to  studies  in  the  selection  of 
which  they  had  a  pronounced  choice;  and  hence,  only 
a  general  education  was  given  which,  while  extremely 
desirable  in  itself,  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  knowledge 
of  some  useful  handicraft,  trade  or  profession,  which 
would  be  a  delight  and  a  pleasure,  a  ready  means  of 
livelihood  and  a  substantial  contribution  to  the  wealth 
and  prosperity  of  the  place  in  which  we  live. 

The  productive  industries  of  a  community  yield  the 
best  returns.  It  is  the  man  who  makes  the  blade  of 
grass  grow  where  none  grew  before,  who  creates  some- 
thing useful  or  beautiful  out  of  the  crude  material,  who 
is  in  the  best  sense  a  benefactor.  Towards  such  bene- 
faction it  is  possible  for  every  man  to  contribute,  no 
matter  what  may  be  his  means  or  his  condition. 

You  do  not,  perhaps,  appreciate  the  advantages  you 
enjoy  as  boys  of  the  twentieth  century. 

You  must  remember,  at  one  time,  it  was  the  policy  of 
the  different  countries  to  keep  their  knowledge  and 
manufacturing  secrets  to  themselves;  and  as  late  as 
1761  the  British  Society  of  Arts,  in  giving  what  was 
probably  the  first  National  Fair,  forbade  drawings  to 
be  made  of  the  machinery  on  exhibition  and  went  so 
far  as  to  guarantee  the  exhibitors  against  the  presence 
of  foreign  spies. 

France,  for  instance,  guarded  certain  industrial  secrets 
for  centuries,  and  they  were  only  revealed  to  England 
and  the  world  by  the  emigration  of  the  Huguenots;  and 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  shipbuilding,  you  will  re- 
member even  Peter  of  Russia  had  to  work  in  the  low 
countries  as  a  common  mechanic. 

Then  again,  in  those  days,  the  feudal  prejudice  against 

28 


labor  was  not  wholly  extinct.  The  Knights  of  Industry, 
who  worked  with  most  success,  plied  their  avocation 
on  the  King's  highways.  Honorable  industrial  employ- 
ment had  no  especial  reward  or  recognition;  but  slowly 
labor  was  emancipating  itself,  and  the  desire  to  excel  in 
"  the  arts  of  peace  "  took  hold  of  nations  as  well  as  of 
men;  and  as  men  proudly  exhibited  their  work  at 
National  Fairs,  so  Nations  entered  the  lists  of  Inter- 
national Exhibitions;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that 
International  Exhibitions,  by  breaking  down  all  narrow 
barriers,  hastened  the  dawn  of  the  new  era  for  the  arts 
and  manufactures  of  the  world. 

Remember  also,  as  citizens  of  a  great  commercial 
emporium,  that  the  producer  can  not  stand  alone.  In 
every  scheme  of  industrial  employment  there  is  provis- 
ion made,  even  by  the  cold  political  economists,  for  the 
wages  of  superintendence.  Yet  the  farmer  in  the 
interior  calls  the  merchant  of  San  Francisco  the  toll 
gatherer  at  the  gate.  The  producer  looks  with  suspi- 
cion, never  appreciating  their  value,  upon  what  he  calls 
the  middlemen;  but  the  middlemen  are  as  necessary  a 
part  of  the  economic  machine  as  the  producer  himself. 
What  avails  production,  unless  that  which  is  produced 
is  exchanged  for  something  of  value;  and  the  producer 
can  not  both  produce  and  become  his  own  agent  in  the 
markets  of  the  world,  which  is  properly  the  field  of 
commerce  and  trade.  Now,  every  man  who  is  engaged 
in  the  store,  or  shop,  or  the  commercial  house  aids  in 
bringing  the  buyer  and  the  seller  together,  and  performs 
a  vital  and  important  function,  and  his  employment  is 
just  as  honorable  and  just  as  useful  as  any  other. 

San  Francisco,  dowered  by  Nature  with  a  harbor  and 
tributary  country  equal  to  any,  has  exploited  the  wealth 
of  mine,  field,  orchard  and  forest.     A  new  era  has,  how- 

29 


ever,  just  awakened.  Well  may  we  pause  to  think  of 
future  possibilities,  when,  by  the  actual  harnessing  of 
mountain  streams  and  the  production  of  oil  in  unpar- 
alleled volume,  electric  energy  and  steam  may  be 
generated  to  propel  the  wheels  of  industry!  We  may 
now  manufacture  all  those  things  for  which  in  the  past 
we  depended  on  Europe  and  the  Eastern  States,  simply 
serving  them  as  a  point  of  distribution,  producing 
little  ourselves. 

The  cost  of  coal  once  barred  the  door  against  us;  now 
the  development  of  cheap  power  has  opened  it. 

The  trade  and  commerce  of  California  should,  with 
the  willing  and  skilled  hands  of  our  boys,  add  a  new 
and  glorious  chapter  to  American  progress  and  civ- 
ilization. 

The  hopes  of  mankind  have  not  been  disappointed  in 
America.  She  has  vindicated  her  destiny  of  peace. 
Wide  acres  and  weak  neighbors  have  made  the  task 
easy.  She  has  given  dignity  to  labor  and  destroyed  the 
false  pretensions  of  the  "  age  of  chivalry." 

Not  only  is  labor  made  honorable,  but  every  honora- 
ble American  seeks  rather  than  shuns  labor;  and  every 
community  should  see  that  the  labor  of  its  citizens  is 
made  useful  and  be  directed  into  channels  which  will 
be  the  most  remunerative  to  the  man  and  the  most 
advantageous  to  the  State. 

These  are  the  tendencies  of  the  times,  and  let  us  hope 
that  out  of  them  great  good  will  come;  and  that  the 
hero  of  the  future  will  not  necessarily  be  "  the  man  on 
horseback; "  not  alone  the  man  who,  on  occasions,  fights 
for  his  country,  but  he  who,  in  whatever  capacity  he 
may  be  employed — whether  it  be  a-foot  or  a-horse — 
makes  his  country  worthy  fighting  for. 

30 


VERDI  MEMORIAL  EXERCISES 


Address  by  Mayor  James  D.  Phelan,  at  the   Tivoli   Opera  House 
San  Francisco,  February  24,  1901, 


It  is  creditable  to  the  citizens  of  San  Francisco  to 
meet  here  today  to  honor  one  of  the  master  minds  of 
the  world.  It  has  been  said  that  there  is  nothing  great 
on  earth  but  man,  and  nothing  great  in  man  but  mind. 
Myriads  of  men  are  born,  labor,  live  and  die — "All  who 
walk  the  earth  are  but  a  handful  to  those  who  sleep 
within  its  bosom  " — and  yet,  through  all  the  ages,  how  few 
have  been  endowed  with  the  spark  of  immortal  genius, 
the  divine  afflatus,  the  gift  of  the  gods,  which  distin- 
guishes them  from  their  fellows,  to  dignify  humanity 
and  to  illumine  the  darkness  which  envelops  us.  In 
Giuseppe  Yerdi  we  have  such  a  man. 

What  are  the  lives  of  kings  and  queens,  ordinary 
mortals,  born  to  power  in  a  narrow  sphere,  who  if  they 
do  not  abuse  it,  are  esteemed  gracious  sovereigns? 
Indeed,  we  are  grateful  if  they  do  us  no  injury.  Com- 
pare, however,  the  dynasties  of  Hanoverian  and  Plan- 
tagenet  with  the  beneficent  rule  of  genius,  elevating 
mankind,  whose  empire  is  the  uncircumscribed  realms 
of  thought,  and  whose  willing  and  delighted  subjects 
are  all  the  people  of  every  land.  Yerdi's  death,  there- 
fore, is  the  sorrow  of  the  world. 

31 


Here  in  California,  we  are  a  cosmopolitan  people. 
Every  land  has  made  a  contribution  to  our  citizenship, 
and  each  is  proud  of  a  particular  ancestry.  How  proud 
are  the  Italians  of  their  Verdi!  They  call  us  here 
today,  and  we  gladly  respond,  to  pay  our  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  the  greatest  musical  composer  of  the  century. 

There  are  tongues  which  we  do  not  understand,  but 
music  is  the  common  language  of  the  world,  and  when 
Verdi  speaks  to  us,  our  emotions — sensitive  to  his  art — 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  master.  We  understand 
him;  we  answer  his  passionate  appeals;  we  rejoice  in 
his  triumphs;  we  bend  to  his  reproof.  He  sings  of  the 
life  of  man  in  the  exalted  cadences  of  the  lyric  muse, 
stirring  to  action  the  slumbering  soul  or  faltering  heart. 
His  is  the  sublimation  of  eloquence. 

As  the  faculties  of  man  are  God-given,  he  who  em- 
ploys them  in  their  highest  perfection  must  best  be  serv- 
ing God.  The  genius  who  creates  is  like  unto  Divinity. 
The  power  which  can  awaken  love  and  fear,  pity  and 
remorse,  by  the  varying  strains  of  his  music,  myste- 
riously persuasive,  resembles  the  voice  of  conscience 
and  suggests  the  spirit  which  dominates  the  universe. 
That  is  the  pinnacle  of  human  attainment.  That  is  the 
consummation  of  art. 

It  is  not  the  wealth  of  a  Croesus  nor  the  despotic 
sway  of  a  Caesar  that  excites  our  real  wonder  or  admira- 
tion, it  is  the  triumph  of  thought;  it  is  the  assertion  of 
the  mastery  of  the  mind.  It  is  not  the  mere  pomp  of 
r  or  the  luxury  of  wealth — it  is  the  influence  of  the 
true  and  the  beautiful  that  betokens  the  progress  of 
civilization.  There  is  no  compulsion  of  tyrants  in  our 
appreciation  of  Verdi's  art.    It  is  the  allegiance  of  love. 

Who  was  this  Italian  boy  who  lived  to  rank  in  his 

32 


sphere  with  the  greatest  of  mankind?  He  was  born 
eighty-six  years  ago,  in  the  Duchy  of  Parma,  of  poor 
parents,  who  kept  a  village  store.  He  enjoyed  no 
adventitious  advantages,  yet  rose  rapidly  in  a  profes- 
sion, in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  musical  friends, 
and  again  seriously  discouraged  in  his  nineteenth  year 
by  his  rejection  at  the  Conservatory  of  Milan. 

But  perseverance  kindled  his  native  talents — in  fact, 
it  has  been  said  that  genius  is  nothiug  but  hard  work — 
until  he  was  able  to  refuse  the  highest  decoration  prof- 
ferred  by  his  King.  He  was  singularly  independent, 
and  sought  only  the  approval  of  the  people;  hence,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  his  music  will  live,  because  it  is 
the  expression  of  human  nature.  He  did  not,  like 
others,  endeavor  to  create  a  taste  by  which  he  would  be 
enjoyed. 

He  gave  poetry  to  life  and  lifted  it  from  sordid  ways 
to  hopefulness  and  enthusiasm,  and  the  people  rose  to 
their  leader.  His  first  operas  were  introduced  with 
difficulty,  which  all  beginners  experience;  but  the 
Italian  ear,  long  trained  in  musical  composition  and 
with  inherited  taste  from  of  old,  accepted  Verdi  as  a 
master.     When  once  known,  he  was  thereafter  loved. 

He  is  classed  by  the  critics  as  the  head  of  the  Italian 
romantic  school.  It  is  claimed  for  Rossini,  his  distin- 
guished countryman,  that  he  was  more  of  the  classical, 
as  his  operas,  with  which  we  are  familiar,  will  testify — 
"  The  Barber  of  Seville  "  and  u  William  Tell."  Another 
countryman  and  also  a  contemporary,  perhaps  influenced 
the  more — Donezetti,  whose  "  Lucia  di  Lamermoor," 
" La  Favorita "  and  "Don  Pasquale "  have  entertained 
us  so  often,  even  in  this  modest  Temple. 

Bellini  had  composed  his  great  works  before  Verdi 


fairly  began  his  career;  but  his  "La  Sonnambula," 
"Norma  "and  "I  Puritani"  found  favor  with  his  rising 
countryman. 

But  just  as  Ford  and  JMassinger  and  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher  preceded  Shakespeare,  so  Rossini,  Donezetti 
and  Bellini  heralded  the  coming  of  Verdi,  who  was  to 
surpass  them  all. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  Wagner  also  influenced 
Verdi's  later  work,  but  eminent  critics  dispute  this. 
Wagner  is  mainly  dramatic.  He  fits  the  strain  to 
the  language.  He  subordinates  the  music  to  his 
subject.  One  critic  states  that  in  Italian  opera,  music 
and  melody  are  the  prime  considerations.  Under  the 
Wagnerian  teaching,  the  full  and  right  dramatic  expres- 
sion became  the  chief  aim,  and  that  involved  a  sub- 
serviency of  the  thoughtful  in  music.  It  is  the  differ- 
ence between  Byron  and  Ossian. 

If  this  be  true,  it  is  Verdi  who  has  preserved  consist- 
ently the  beautiful  in  music  against  the  incursions  of 
the  more  robust  school  of  the  north,  which  no  doubt 
has  excellent  claims  for  the  consideration  of  its  peculiar 
style.  All  we  can  ask  ourselves  is,  however,  what 
pleases  us  most?  The  popular  verdict  will  support  the 
sweetness  and  the  beauty  of  the  Italian  school,  which 
appeals  not  to  the  dramatic  in  our  nature  so  much  as 
to  the  homely  joys  and  common  pleasures,  which  fill 
so  much  of  our  daily  life — "  Not  too  pure  and  good  for 
human  nature's  daily  food."  It  comes  to  our  doors  and 
does  not  violently  translate  us  to  strange  places  or  to 
rude  peoples  possessing  rudimentary  manners.  Loving 
is  wooing  and  persuasion  and  gentleness;  not  declama- 
tion and  terror! 

When  one  is  mad  and  tempestuous  in  love,  jealousy 

34 


or  anger,  he  may  go  to  Wagner  and  storm  like  the  gods 
in  their  wrath.  Wagner  wrote  of  an  age  half  barbaric; 
Verdi  of  cultivated  and  civilized  life;  but  in  "Aida  "  he 
showed  his  Wagnerian  capacity  for  the  treatment  of 
strong  and  fearful  natures  that  characterize  the  untamed 
spirit  of  the  old  Egyptians. 

What  versatility!  What  capacity !  Of  Verdi's  thirty 
operas,  his  Shakespearean  "Falstaff"  (which  many 
assert  is  his  greatest  composition)  was  written  by  him 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one.  The  critics  say  that  in  form, 
harmonization  and  orchestration  it  is  his  masterpiece. 

The  first  period  of  his  work  is  illustrated  by  "  Nu- 
bucco,"  "I  Lombardi"  and  "Ernani;"  the  second  by 
"Kigoletto,"  "La  Traviata"  and  "II  Trovatore,"  and 
the  third  and  greatest  period,  showing  his  full  develop- 
ment, by  the  operas  "Aida,"  "Othello"  and  "Ealstaff." 

Whatever  may  be  the  judgment  of  mere  critics,  who, 
after  all,  compose  but  a  small  portion  of  an  audience, 
the  melodies  of  "Kigoletto,"  "La  Traviata"  and  "II 
Trovatore  "  will,  as  now,  reach  the  popular  heart  of  suc- 
ceeding generations,  and  from  St.  Petersburg  to  San 
Francisco  the  music  will  be  sung  as  long  as  love  lasts — 
and  love  is  the  dominant,  ineradicable  and  necessary 
passion  of  the  world;  and  after  life  is  fled,  the  strains 
of  the  master,  still  true  to  human  nature,  it  is  said,  will 
linger  somewhere  between  the  angels  and  the  demons, 
and  will  possess,  even  then,  power  to  mollify  the  pangs 
of  perdition.     Does  not  Owen  Meredith  sing: 

"  Of  all  the  operas  that  Verdi  wrote 

The  best,  to  my  taste,  is  "  II  Trovatore,' 
And  Mario  can  soothe  with  a  tenor  note 
The  souls  in  Purgatory." 

But  death  will  not  silence  his  voice.     His  songs  will 


be  sung  forever  and  aye,  and  his  disciples  will  lovingly 
take  up  his  work.  When  Mascagni,  his  countryman, 
produced  the  "  Cavalleria  Kusticana,"  Verdi  said,  "  I 
can  die  in  peace  now  that  Mascagni  has  produced  his 
opera." 

After  a  remarkable  life,  during  which  he  raised  high 
the  standard  of  art,  created  music  which  is  chanted  and 
applauded  by  the  world,  patriotically  championing  his 
country's  cause,  and  benevolently  giving  his  vast 
fortune  for  the  care  of  the  old  musicians,  whose 
inspired  instruments  had  given  voice  and  expression  to 
the  children  of  his  soul,  he  died,  at  the  age  of  four- 
score years  and  six,  honored  and  beloved,  not  alone 
by  his  countrymen,  but  by  millions  of  men  and  women, 
who  were  and  are  still  the  daily  recipients  of  his 
sublime  messages,  written  in  undying  melody. 

That  is  immortality  on  this  earth — to  live  in  one's 
creative  works;  and  it  is  the  state  wherein  mortals  most 
resemble  the  gods. 

Our  Italian- American  citizens  perform  a  worthy  serv- 
ice by  commemorating  their  great  names.  Our  country 
is  made  up  of  all  nationalities,  and  therefore  has  a 
peculiar  right  to  join  in  this  expression  of  gratitude. 
Aye,  there  are  special  reasons:  To  Italy  we  owe  Colum- 
bus and  Amerigo  Vespucci,  so  we  are  wedded  by 
discovery  as  well  as  by  name — America,  Columbia — 
to  that  historic  race. 

Italy  is  the  home  of  Art  and  Science.  From  the 
Roman  days  to  the  present  time,  there  has  been  a  long 
succession  of  men  of  genius.  Such  names  as  Rafael, 
Michael  Angelo;  Dante,  Petrarch,  Tasso  and  Gallileo 
suggest  the  greatest  achievements  of  the  mind  of  man. 

There  is  much  in  the  mountains  and  valleys,  sky  and 


sea  of  beautifull ifcaly  to  inspire  genius;  and  perhaps  the 
physical  joy  of  life,  in  that  favored  land,  had  much  to 
do  with  the  glory  of  her  sons. 

In  all  physical  respects,  California  resembles  Italy. 
Our  skies,  our  mountains,  our  valleys  are  not  less  fair. 
May  we  not  hope  to  emulate  in  Art  and  Science  the 
older  land,  whose  sons  have  done  so  much  for  the  prog- 
ress of  the  world  and  whose  unfading  beauty  has  self- 
conferred  an  immortality  all  its  own. 

"Fair  Italy! 
Thou  art  the  garden  of  the  world,  the  home 
Of  all  Art  yields  and  Nature  can  decree; 
Even  in  thy  desert,  what  is  like  to  thee? 
Thy  very  weeds  are  beautiful,  thy  waste 
More  rich  than  other  lands'  fertility ; 
Thy  wreck  a  glory  and  thy  ruin  grand 
With  an  immaculate  charm  that  cannot  be  defaced." 


37 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE 

GOETHE-SCHILLER  MEMORIAL 


Golden  Gale  Park,  August  11,  1901. 


On  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  San  Francisco,  I  accept 
this  beautiful  group  of  statuary  from  our  German- 
American  citizens,  whose  thoughtful  generosity  I  desire, 
in  the  name  of  all  our  people  to  gratefully  acknowledge. 

This  gift  will  suggest  many  things  to  the  casual 
observer  who  seeks  these  shades  for  recreation.  He 
will  realize  that  San  Francisco  is  a  little  world  in  itself. 
Men  from  every  land  have  made  it  their  home.  They 
bring  their  culture  and  their  skill  as  contributions  to  the 
city  of  which  they  have  become  by  right  of  citizenship 
an  active  and  patriotic  part.  Thus  do  we  possess  the 
spirit  of  every  land  and  proudly  boast  of  our  cosmo- 
politan character. 

Provincialism  alone  is  a  stranger  within  our  gates. 
Liberality  of  thought  and  toleration  of  the  views  and 
the  customs  of  others  have  promoted  that  freedom  and 
fellowship  which  distinguish  us  even  among  American 
cities. 

Kobert  Louis  Stevenson  says  of  San  Francisco  that  it 
is  the  "  smeltingpot  of  the  races " — where  the  gold  is 
separated  from  the  dross. 

39 


A  new  country  has  the  splendid  advantage  of  enjoying 
the  thought  and  the  work  of  all  men  who  have  gone 
before.  We  can  select  and  appropriate  the  best.  As 
the  poet  has  written,  we  are  "the  heir  of  all  the  ages  in 
the  foremost  files  of  time."  From  these,  our  possessions, 
the  common  property  of  mankind,  we  can  draw  at  will. 
From  the  exalted  position  which  it  is  our  good  fortune 
to  thus  occupy,  native  genius  may  soar,  and  on  the  sure 
foundation  of  past  accomplishment,  native  skill  may 
safely  build. 

To  appropriate,  however,  the  work  of  other  men  or 
even  to  take  the  legacy  which  is  ours,  without  expressing 
obligation  to  our  benefactors,  would  prove  us  selfish  and 
unworthy.  So  we  are  assembled  to  pay  a  tribute,  which 
is  the  due  of  genius,  to  the  master  minds  of  Germany, 
Goethe  and  Schiller. 

They  are  part  of  our  legacy.  They  are  ours  today 
because  we  make  them  ours;  their  genius  was  so  trans- 
cendant  that  they  belong  to  the  world.  But  let  us  not 
deceive  ourselves,  for,  just  as  the  father  is  proud  of  his 
sons,  so  prouder  today  than  all  is  the  land  of  their  birth 
and  its  sons.  Let  us  bow  to  the  superior  claims  of 
German  nationality. 

You,  who  came  from  Germany,  speak  for  your  native 
land,  and  I  for  our  cosmopolitan  city;  but  who  shall 
speak  for  Art,  for  Poetry  and  for  Science?  Who  shall 
speak  for  the  glory  of  mankind?  Who  is  able  to  fit- 
tingly express  the  whole  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to 
mortals  such  as  these? 

Yet  little  did  they  dream,  in  the  wildest  imaginings 
of  Fancy's  flight,  that  they  would  be  honored  by  a  mon- 
ument in  bronze  by  the  far  shores  of  the  Pacific.  But 
be  it  known  to  the  lasting  credit  of  their  fellow-country- 

40 


men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  upbuild- 
ing of  California,  that,  although  separated  by  sea 
and  continent  from  the  Fatherland,  they  have,  during 
their  pilgrimage,  carried  within  their  hearts,  as  the  ark 
covenant,  their  love  and  reverence  for  their  country's 
greatest  names. 

The  highest  criticism,  as  well  as  the  popular  regard, 
attest  the  inspired  genius  and  personal  worth  of  Goethe 
and  Schiller.  They  should  have  our  unreserved  venera- 
tion. As  men  and  as  masters,  they  loved  each  other. 
This  portrait  group  shall  therefore  stand  for  friendship 
as  well  as  fame.  It  will  inspire  our  youth.  It  will  adorn 
our  Park  as  long  as  time  shall  spare  it  from  the  ravages 
of  decay.  Here,  embowered  among  the  flowers  so  dear  to 
Goethe,  it  will  serve  to  awaken  our  love  of  literature  and 
our  appreciation  of  its  most  brilliant  exponents.  Well 
has  it  been  said  that  the  history  of  literature  is  the 
history  of  the  human  mind — ''the  thoughts  of  thinking 
souls."  Carlyle  says  of  Goethe  that  he  was  the  most 
notable  literary  man  for  the  last  hundred  years,  and  that 
he  was  his  chosen  hero  among  them  all.  "  Out  of  his 
books  the  world  rises  imaged  once  more  as  Godlike,  the 
workmanship  and  temple  of  a  God." 

We  can  best  understand  his  position  when  we  recall 
how  dear  to  us  is  our  Shakespeare,  who  has  peopled  our 
minds  as  with  living  men  and  women,  representing 
every  human  passion  and  emotion.  He,  their  prototype, 
was  venerated  by  Goethe  and  Schiller,  and  should  stand 
by  their  side.  Shakespeare  should  have  also  the  homage 
of  our  city. 

Then  let  this  monument  be  but  the  beginning  of  San 
Francisco's  tribute  to  the  great  minds  of  the  world.  Let 
this  Concert  Valley  be  a  Temple  of  Fame.     Then  will 

41 


the  blooms  of  flowers  and  the  voice  of  music,  on  every 
holiday,  bespeak  our  gratitude  and  praise! 

We  thank  our  German  fellow-citizens  for  having  sug- 
gested the  thought  and  given  it  such  beautiful  expres- 
sion in  this  work  of  their  great  sculptor,  Eietschel,  thus 
wedding  Art,  Literature  and  the  Fatherland  in  a  com- 
mon memorial. 

Apart  from  the  conspicuous  services  which  our  citi- 
zens of  German  extraction  have  rendered  this  country 
in  every  field  of  human  activity,  why  should  not  the 
German  Fatherland  have  a  memorial?  "We  have  been 
accustomed  to  boast  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  civilization, 
and  it  is  true  the  land  of  Shakespeare  has  given  much 
to  the  world;  but  back  of  England  were  the  races  who 
have  given  that  country  its  name  as  well  as  its  distinc- 
tion— the  Angles  and  the  Saxons — who  were  German 
tribes  and  whose  superior  prowess  wrested  the  possession 
of  that  country  from  the  native  Britons. 

So,  whatever  benefits  have  been  conferred  upon 
America  by  Anglo-Saxon  civilization,  its  origin  must 
be  sought  in  the  ancestors  of  the  men  and  women  who 
here  today  glorify  the  greatest  minds  which  the  Teu- 
tonic people  have  developed. 

It  is  the  blending  of  all  peoples  that  has  given 
supremacy  to  America,  and  therefore  it  is  in  a  true 
American  sense  I  acknowledge,  on  this  occasion,  our 
obligation  and  speak  our  thanks. 


42 


ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 

TO  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY 


In  the  Grand  Nave  of  the  Union  Depot,  San  Francisco,  May  14, 1901 


President  William  McKinley  officially  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  on  the  afternoon  of  May  14,  accompanied  by 
his  Cabinet.  After  a  street  parade,  they  were  formally 
received  at  the  Union  Depot,  where  a  public  reception 
was  held. 

Mayor  Phelan's  address  was  as  follows : 
Mr.  President  and  Distinguished  Guests: 

The  people  of  San  Francisco  bid  yon  cordial  and 
patriotic  welcome.  They  have  for  many  days  been 
making  ready  for  your  coming,  and  now  enjoy  the 
pleasure  and  the  honor  of  receiving  and  entertaining 
their  President — the  President  of  the  Kepublic  of  which 
they  are  a  devoted  part,  and  in  whose  greatness  and 
glory  they  are  proud  to  share. 

We  feel  that  San  Francisco  is  indeed  one  of  the 
nation's  capitals.  Our  city  not  only  renders  municipal 
service  for  its  inhabitants  and  fulfills  the  purposes  of  a 
metropolis  as  the  chief  city  of  a  great  State,  but  its 
position  is  better  defined  as  the  principal  port  of  the 

43 


United  States  on  the  Pacific  ocean.  It  is,  therefore,  Mr. 
President,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  yonr  city  as  well  as  ours. 
It  belongs  to  the  country. 

As  late  as  1848,  however,  Daniel  Webster  said  that 
California,  on  account  of  her  remoteness,  could  never 
be  expected  to  accept  laws  from  Congress.  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  history  that  she  eagerly  joined  the  Union  of 
States,  and  you  know,  Mr.  President,  having  just  crossed 
the  broad  continent,  that  you  were  never  absent  for  an 
hour  from  the  seat  of  government.  We  are  no  longer 
remote.  It  is  true  that  forty  long  days  elapsed  after  our 
admission  before  we  were  apprised  of  the  event;  but 
invention  and  enterprise,  which  Webster  failed  to  fore- 
see, have  since  that  day  distanced  the  revolution  of  the 
earth,  and  we  can  now,  in  point  of  time,  anticipate  Con- 
gress itself  in  the  passage  of  its  acts.  By  the  grace  of 
electricity,  our  western  position  puts  us  in  the  vanguard 
of  the  sun,  and  by  the  awakening  of  the  Pacific  we  have 
become  a  center,  whereas  we  were  an  outpost. 

During  your  visit  we  shall  show  you  how  San  Fran- 
cisco in  the  gentler  pursuits  of  life  has  kept  pace  with 
the  social,  educational  and  material  development  of  the 
country.  From  the  summit  of  Mt.  Tamalpais,  almost 
3000  feet  above  the  sea,  you  will  be  invited  to  survey 
our  city,  bay  and  tributary  country;  our  great  park, 
extending  to  the  shores  of  the  ocean,  shall  bid  you 
thither;  our  tables,  bearing  the  fullness  of  the  land,  will 
yield  you  refreshment;  our  schools  and  universities  shall 
exhibit  to  you  the  progress  of  learning,  and  monuments 
in  honor  of  labor  and  in  commemoration  of  valor  await 
your  dedication.    * 

And  now  to  the  object  of  your  visit,  Mr.  President: 

The  city  which   constructed    the   Olympia  and  the 

44 


Oregon  claims  the  privilege  which  you  have  graciously 
granted  of  giving  to  the  sea  a  battleship  which  shall 
bear  the  name  of  your  own  State — the  illustrious  com- 
monwealth of  Ohio — and  it  is  our  sincere  wish  and 
expectation  that  her  achievements  shall  be  worthy  of  the 
exploits  of  her  sister  ships,  as  well  as  the  unusual  and 
auspicious  ceremony  of  her  christening. 

We  trust  that  these  many  evidences  of  the  growth  and 
power  of  this  American  city,  the  creation  of  the  pioneers 
and  the  pride  of  their  descendants,  representing  a  span 
of  a  little  more  than  fifty  years,  shall  be  pleasing  in 
your  eyes.  What  we  have  and  what  we  are  is  at  the 
command  of  our  common  country,  a  part  of  its  posses- 
sions, a  fragment,  perhaps,  of  its  glory.  In  this  spirit, 
Mr.  President,  you  are  welcome  to  it  all;  and  in  a  more 
personal  sense,  I  ask  you  for  yourself  and  Mrs.  McKin- 
ley  and  the  members  of  your  party,  to  now  accept  the 
hospitality  of  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  people  of 
San  Francisco. 

The  President's  response  was  as  follows: 
Mb.  Mayor  and  Fellow-citizens: 

I  wish  I  might  command  fitting  words  of  response  to 
the  gracious  and  beautiful  welcome  extended  to  me  in 
behalf  of  all  the  people  of  San  Francisco  by  your  elo- 
quent and  distinguished  chief  magistrate.  It  is  true,  as 
he  has  well  said,  we  needed  no  formal  or  official  welcome 
after  the  demonstration  of  today;  and  repeated  again 
tonight  as  we  drove  to  this  assembly  hall.  I  can  only  in 
a  single  word  express  the  very  great  satisfaction  it  is  to 
us  that  you,  irrespective  of  creed  or  politics  or  nationality 
or  race,  give  greeting  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.     (Applause.)     We  heard  today  no  note  but  that 

45 


of  national  joy;  no  song  but  that  of  patriotism;  no 
music  but  for  the  Union  of  the  States.  We  looked  upon 
the  faces  of  hope  and  contentment,  and  I  assure  you  this 
splendid  manifestation  of  the  feeling  of  the  people  will 
give  me  encouragement  for  the  great  responsibilities 
which  have  been  committed  for  a  time  to  my  care.  (Ap- 
plause. ) 

Nothing  has  pleased  me  more  in  all  this  demonstra- 
tion than  the  greeting  which  I  received  from  the  work- 
ingmen  of  this  city  from  their  shops  and  your  streets 
today.  I  was  glad  to  be  welcomed  by  them;  by  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic;  by  my  old  comrades 
of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio,  and  by  all  the  people,  who 
now  have  but  one  flag,  one  hope,  one  faith,  one  destiny. 
(Great  and  long-continued  applause.) 


46 


INTRODUCTORY  ADDRESS 


By  Mayor  James  D.  Phelan  at  the  Citizens'  Memorial  Services, 
Held  on  the  Day  of  the  Funeral  of  William  McKinley,  Late 
President  of  the  United  States,  Mechanics'  Pavilion,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Thursday,  September  19,  1901. 


A  sad  mission  has  called  us  together.  Our  city  is 
bowed  in  grief.  We  mourn  the  loss  of  our  President. 
But  recently  he  was  with  us,  beloved  and  honored  of  all 
men,  and  now  he  is  lying  low,  the  victim  of  a  cruel  and 
cowardly  crime  which  humiliates  the  Republic  and  dis- 
graces humanity.  But  this  hour  is  sacred  to  sorrow, 
and  resentment  yields  to  the  tender  emotions  which 
have  brought  us  here. 

We  are  a  joyous  people.  We  celebrate  holidays  and 
welcome  distinguished  guests  with  garlanded  streets 
and  decorated  houses;  and  so  did  we  go  out  dutifully, 
it  seems  but  yesterday,  to  greet  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  when,  accompanied  by  his  Cabinet,  in 
all  the  power  of  his  position,  he  honored  our  city  by  a 
visit.  I  say,  dutifully  did  we  go  out  to  greet  him,  but 
well  do  we  remember  how  duty  was  enthusiastically 
transmuted,  by  his  simple  presence,  into  the  sweetest 
offices  of  love!  Our  country's  chosen  chief  at  once 
became  our  friend,  as  we  became  his  champion.     Ah! 

47 


too  brief  a  time  did  he  linger  with  us,  but  long  enough 
to  awaken  in  every  honest  breast  the  sincerest  appre- 
ciation of  his  virtues  and  his  patriotism. 

But,  now,  he  is  gone  forever.  His  last  kindly  speech 
is  spoken:  "Good  by  all.  It  is  God's  way.  Let  His 
will,  not  ours,  be  done." 

Good-by,  William  McKinley ! 

No  more,  my  friends,  shall  his  inspiring  words  fall 
upon  our  delighted  ears;  nor  shall  his  eyes  ever  again 
reflect  the  love  he  bore  his  fellowman;  nor  shall  his 
benignant  face  picture  again  for  us  the  unfeigned  joy 
with  which  he  beheld  the  reciprocal  devotion  of  a  happy 
and  prosperous  people. 

He  is  dead,  and  we  are  assembled  to  honor  his 
memory.  Let  us  strive  to  do  it  worthily.  Our  feeble 
expression  is  burdened,  however,  with  the  weight  of 
sorrow;  each  man's  house  is  a  house  of  mourning;  but 
each  fireside  shall  be  a  Temple  of  Fame  and  a  strong- 
hold of  Patriotism!  Our  people  shall,  in  their  heart- 
offerings  of  this  day,  pledge  themselves  to  the  God  of 
Nations  that  the  lesson  of  the  life  and  death  of  William 
McKinley  shall  not  be  lost,  and  that  the  gain  in  an 
aroused  love  of  country,  which  would  have  been  so 
pleasing  in  his  eyes,  shall  be  equal  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  sacrifice.     Let  this  be  our  consolation. 

We  cannot  recall  the  past.  The  President  is  dead; 
William  McKinley  is  no  more;  San  Francisco,  loyal 
and  loving,  mourns  passionately  at  his  grave;  but  our 
Country  survives  and  is  made  more  sacred  to  us  still  by 
the  blood  of  its  martyred  President  and  the  tears  of  an 
afflicted  people. 


48 


DEBATE  ON  THE  CHINESE  QUESTION 

With  Imperial  Chinese  Consul  Ho  Yow,  at  the  Unitarian    Club, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.t  November  25,  1901. 


Speech  of  Mayor  James  D*  Phelan, 


(Stenographically  Reported.) 


Mr.  President,  and  gentlemen  of  the  Unitarian  Club : 
I  would  have  much  preferred  to  have  followed  in  the 
course  of  this  debate,  after  having  heard  the  arguments 
advanced  by  the  distinguished  gentlemen  on  the  other 
side.  I  came  here  with  feelings  of  expectation  and 
interest  in  the  presentation  of  the  case  from  the  point 
of  view  of  those  who  are  the  proponents  of  Chinese 
immigration,  because,  as  your  President  has  said,  the 
settled  opinion  of  California  during  the  last  twenty  years 
has  been  favorable  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Chinese  from 
these  shores.  It  may  be  said  that  we  have  been  brought 
up  upon  that  doctrine;  we  have  absorbed  it.  During 
the  last  week  there  were  abundant  opportunities  for 
further  absorption;  and  hence,  when  we  find  men 
seriously  opposing  the  trend  of  public  opinion,  or  we 
may  say,  what  is  the  settled  policy  of  the  country,  our 
interest  and  our  expectations  are  awakened. 

49 


I  am  also  glad  that  here  tonight  is  the  author  of  the 
Geary  Law,  whose  Act  will  come  before  Congress  at  its 
next  session  for  re-enactment.  1  am  sure  that  he  can 
enlighten  you  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Imperial  Chinese 
Consul,  Mr.  Ho  Yow,  on  the  other. 

For  my  part,  my  interest  in  the  subject  has  come 
from  my  residence  in  California.  I  have,  in  common 
with  you  all,  lived  here  probably  during  the  entire  anti- 
Chinese  agitation,  but  I  do  not  go  back,  perhaps,  as  far 
as  many  of  you. 

The  Burlingame  Treaty  was  'negotiated  in  1868.  At 
that  time  there  was  a  disposition,  I  am  told,  in  this 
state,  to  receive  with  open  arms  the  immigration  of 
Chinese,  because  we  were  a  sparsely  settled  country, 
and  it  was  believed  that  their  capacity  for  hard  work  on 
our  railroads,  in  our  fields  and  in  our  mines  would  help 
greatly  in  the  development  of  the  young  state.  But 
you  will  recall  that  very  soon  after  that,  within  ten  or 
twelve  years,  there  was  a  marked  change  of  sentiment. 

You  will  recollect  that  about  1878  or  1879  there  was 
a  movement  called  Kearnyism,  which  was  an  opprobri- 
ous reference  to  a  political  movement  of  real  significance, 
behind  which  were  a  very  large  majority  of  the  people 
of  this  state.  Kearnyism  simply  stood  in  those  days 
for  an  aggressive  opposition  to  Chinese  coolieism.  The 
shibboleth  of  the  campaign  was  that  "The  Chinese 
must  go!"  but  it  really  meant  that  the  Chinese  should 
not  come,  because  in  those  few  years  following  the 
ratification  of  the  Burlingame  Treaty  no  less  than 
75,000  Chinese  had  come  to  California. 

The  people  saw  at  once — they  seemed  to  realize  it  in 
a  night,  so  spontaneous  was  the  movement — that  large 
numbers  of  our  citizens  of  the  Caucasian  race,  who  had 

50 


pioneered  and  begun  the  development  of  the  country, 
were  displaced  in  almost  every  field  of  trade  and  em- 
ployment— the  common  laborer  as  well  as  the  skilled 
artisan — and  men,  women  and  children  marched  the 
streets  really  hungry  for  bread.  They  could  not  get  em- 
ployment, and  in  the  fever  heat  which  followed  that 
agitation,  the  new  constitution,  so  far  as  the  constitution 
of  a  state  might  embrace  such  subjects,  discouraging  the 
employment  of  Chinese,  was  carried  in  the  face  of  tre- 
mendous opposition  from  the  conservative  classes,  who 
had  overlooked  the  Chinese  question  for  the  moment  and 
believed  that  the  new  constitution  involved  the  confisca- 
tion of  their  property;  and  a  Mayor  of  San  Francisco  was 
elected  at  that  time  by  an  overwhelming  vote,  almost 
upon  the  same  issue. 

Kearnyism  was  a  mere  passing  and  emotional  politi- 
cal movement;  and  yet  it  had  very  deep  significance,  so 
much  so  that  James  Bryce  in  his  very  serious  and 
exhaustive  work,  "  The  American  Commonwealth," 
gives  two  chapters  to  it;  and  as  the  result  of  that 
movement  publishes  in  his  appendix  a  copy  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  State  of  California. 

Those  were  the  conditions  which  existed  at  that  time. 
Congress,  obedient  to  what  was  clearly  the  wish  of  this 
state,  represented  by  numerical  majority,  enacted  in 
1882  the  first  exclusion  law,  and  in  1892  the  law  was 
re-enacted.  In  1894  the  State  Department  negotiated  a 
treaty  with  China,  embracing  all  the  provisions  of  the 
Geary  Act,  referring  to  the  exclusion  of  Chinese.  So 
we  have,  with  the  consent  of  the  Chinese  government, 
today  a  law  forbidding  the  immigration  into  this  country 
of  Chinese  laborers. 

The  merchant  class,  students,  educators  and  travelers 

51 


are  admitted,  and  it  was  the  clear  intention  of  the  law 
simply  to  bar  all  Chinese  coolies  who,  I  am  informed, 
come  here  principally  from  the  province  embracing 
Canton,  a  comparatively  small  province  of  China.  The 
law  was  directed,  then,  as  we  first  contend,  simply  at 
the  immigration  of  coolies. 

There  is  certainly  no  question  as  to  the  power  of  a 
state  to  exclude  an  undesirable  immigration.  That  is 
founded  in  natural  law.  It  is  based,  of  course,  upon 
the  right  of  a  state  to  preserve  itself.  It  is  the  judge, 
as  it  were,  of  the  qualifications  of  its  own  members; 
and  because  we  exclude  the  Chinese  it  does  not  follow 
that  this  country  is  actuated  and  moved  merely  by  con- 
siderations of  the  agitation  in  California,  or  by  the 
demands  of  its  people,  who  are  most  exposed  to  the 
dangers  of  Asiatic  immigration;  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  has  enacted  immigration  laws  excluding 
the  pauper  and  the  contract  labor  of  Europe,  and  those 
laws  are  very  strictly  enforced,  at  the  behest  of  the 
whole  country. 

On  the  eastern  seaboard  today  in  every  custom  house 
immigrants  from  the  old  lands  are  interrogated  as  to 
their  ability  to  support  themselves,  and  close  investiga- 
tion is  made  as  to  whether  they  are  brought  here  under 
contract,  no  matter  how  skilled  or  competent  they  may 
be,  or  how  eligible  they  may  be  to  American  citizenship, 
they  are  sent  back,  because  the  settled  policy  of  this 
country,  irrespective  of  the  Chinese  question,  is  to 
exclude  the  contract  and  the  pauper  labor  of  the  Old 
World. 

I  might  rest  the  case  here  by  saying  that  you  will  all 
agree  that  contract  and  pauper  labor  should  be  excluded 
and  that  that,  necessarily,  would  embrace  the  exclusion 

52 


of  the  Chinese  immigrants,  because  I  hold  that  almost 
without  exception  the  Chinese  coolie  comes  within  this 
classification.  Their  immigration  is  always  assisted. 
They  are  not  a  people  who  migrate  voluntarily.  They 
come  here  under  contracts.  They  come  here  under  the 
patronage — I  may  say,  in  one  sense,  if  not  a  technical 
sense — the  ownership  of  the  six  Chinese  companies  of 
California,  who  exercise  a  paternal  interest  over  their 
people  who,  emigrating  from  that  remote  country  to  this, 
are  hardly  able  to  care  for  themselves.  Their  services 
are  farmed  out.  You  can  contract  for  large  numbers  of 
Chinese  and  have  them  brought  here,  provided  the  bars 
are  let  down,  as  they  are  brought  today  to  Mexico  to 
work  upon  mines  and  farms;  and  then  they  are  returned, 
if  you  please,  or  they  are  sent  hither  and  thither. 

We  know  the  poverty  that  pinches  China.  We  know 
that  people  there  work  for  a  "small  pittance,  even  arti- 
sans or  skilled  laborers  receiving  not  more  than  eight 
or  ten  dollars  a  month.  And  I  am  told  it  is  shown  in 
the  reports  of  the  United  States  Minister,  John  Barrett, 
of  Siam,  who  gave  a  statistical  table  as  to  wages  in  a 
recent  number  of  a  magazine  of  all  the  common  laborers 
and  agriculturists — and  it  is  claimed  that  the  majority 
of  the  Chinese  are  merely  common  laborers  and  agri- 
culturists— receive  not  more  than  a  dollar  and  a  half  or 
two  dollars  in  our  money  per  month,  in  China,  where 
they  must  find  themselves.  And  hence,  it  is  an  induce- 
ment to  them,  and  to  those  who  contract  for  their  labor, 
and  to  the  companies  who  traffic  in  the  business  of 
immigration,  to  bring  them  here  where  they  can  earn  a 
large  sum  of  money,  comparatively,  and  enough  to 
enable  them,  if  need  be,  to  go  back,  which  they  invaria- 
bly do, 

53 


There  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Chinese — his  attachment 
to  native  land  is  so  strong,  that  he  always  intends  to 
return.  It  is  a  part  of  the  religious  belief  of  the  people 
that  in  order  to  insure  eternal  rest,  their  bones  even 
must  rest  in  the  land  of  their  birth.  And  hence,  when 
they  are  brought  here  it  is  with  the  understanding  that 
they  shall  be  returned;  and  if  they  die  here  that  the 
mortal  part  of  them  shall  be  returned. 

In  Hawaii  today,  I  am  told,  there  are  25,000  Chinese, 
and  the  number  is  diminishing  at  the  rate  of  five  hun- 
dred per  month,  because  they  are  receiving  a  dollar  a 
d*ay  there  to  work  upon  the  plantations,  and  when  they 
accumulate  a  thousand  dollars  they  think  that  it  is  a 
fortune;  and  indeed  it  is  in  the  Flowery  Kingdom,  and 
nothing  can  keep  them  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  where 
life  is  so  attractive,  under  a  tropical  sky,  to  which  they 
have  been  inured,  and  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 
They  will  not  remain,  but  back  they  will  go. 

The  state,  having  the  right  to  exclude,  it  follows 
simply  that  the  question  before  us  resolves  itself  into 
this:  Are  the  Chinese  a  desirable  population?  Are  the 
Chinese  desirable  as  citizens  of  this  country?  In  order 
to  answer  that  it  might  be  necessary  to  explain  what 
this  country  is;  its  purpose  and  its  destiny.  That 
would  be,  indeed,  a  long  story.  But  it  may  clear  things 
to  state  that  this  is  no  ordinary  country;  that  this  land 
was  settled  by  men  seeking  freedom.  They  came,  I  will 
not  say  voluntarily,  in  one  sense,  from  the  old  lands, 
they  came  because  the  conditions  of  life  were  such  that 
they  could  not  endure  them.  They  would  have  remained 
in  England  and  injreland,  in  France  and  in  Germany, 
if  the  conditions  were  favorable  to  their  happiness  and 
prosperity;  but  the  conditions  were  so  hard  that  under 

54 


compulsion,  which  bore  upon  their  minds  and  upon 
their  souls;  loving  freedom,  they  came  to  this  land  to 
establish  a  republic;  and  the  cornerstone  of  that  republic 
was  the  equality  of  its  citizens.  All  men  were  to  be 
equal  with  respect  to  their  rights  before  the  law;  they 
were  to  have  freedom  of  locomotion,  to  go  and  come 
where  they  pleased;  they  were  to  have  the  freedom  of 
the  press,  and  of  speech  and  of  assembly;  they  were, 
in  fine,  to  have  all  those  things  which  had  been  denied 
them  in  the  old  country. 

Under  the  stimulus  of  freedom  they  have  become  a 
great  and  a  prosperous  people.  The  growth  of  the 
United  States  is  phenomenal,  and  pari  passu  with  their 
growth  in  population  has  been  the  growth  of  civiliza- 
tion and  civic  rights. 

This  country  is  a  shining  example,  and  will  so  remain 
through  all  history,  of  a  marvelous  development,  not 
only  in  material  matters,  but  in  political,  social  and 
civic  matters,  which  will  cause  it  to  stand  out  forever 
as  a  beacon  and  a  guide. 

This  country  is  not  like  South  Africa,  if  you  please; 
it  is  not  like  Central  Africa;  it  is  not  like  a  land  which 
is  abandoned,  as  it  were,  to  the  mere  development  of  the 
material  resources  of  the  country,  to  become  tributary 
to  a  home  government.  It  is  a  nation.  It  is  not  a 
colony  to  make  contributions,  as  it  was  designed  to  be 
by  England.  It  is  an  independent  country,  working 
out  its  own  destiny,  and  we  must  never  for  a  moment 
separate  the  social  and  the  political  interests  of  the 
people  from  the  development  of  the  soil,  and  of  manu- 
factures. 

I  can  well  imagine  an  argument  being  made  by  which 
it  would  appear  to  the  short-sighted  that  a  cheap  class 

55 


of  labor  would  serve,  as  we  once  believed  it  would, 
about  the  time  of  the  negotiation  of  the  Burlingame 
Treaty,  to  produce  wealth  and  material  greatness,  by 
taking  coolie  labor,  willing,  eager  and  able  to  work, 
putting  it  in  the  hard  places,  in  the  hills  and  in  the 
valleys  and  in  the  swamps;  reclaiming  the  lands  and 
harvesting  the  crops;  opening  the  treasures  locked  in 
the  secret  places  of  the  mountains,  so  that  all  this 
wealth  would  pour  out  and  be  appropriated  by  the 
American  citizen  proper,  who  would  serve  as  an  over- 
seer in  this  great  plantation  of  California,  and  live  on 
the  bounty  and  the  work  of  others. 

That  was  the  spirit  which  appeared  here,  and  it  was 
a  mistaken  spirit  and  a  false  policy,  the  same  spirit  and 
policy  which  brought  the  slaves  here  in  the  beginning 
of  the  life  of  this  republic — a  great  error  which  has 
been  extravagantly  paid  for  by  the  expenditure  of  money 
and  blood,  which,  probably,  never  can  be  recovered. 
Never  can  the  scars  of  the  Civil  War  be  fully  healed. 
Never  can  the  waste  which  followed  that  war  be  fully 
restored. 

It  has  been  the  policy,  the  popular  theory  of  academic 
gentlemen,  to  regard  labor  simply  by  its  capacity  for 
work.  If  we  can  bring  here  from  China  or  elsewhere 
a  large  number  of  willing  and  capable  servants  who 
will  do  this  disagreeable  work  for  us,  and  we  can  bene- 
fit by  their  labor,  then  in  that  event,  the  state  forsooth 
is  prosperous.  But  we  cannot,  under  American  institu- 
tions, and  in  consonance  with  American  ideals,  segregate 
the  laboring  class  and  regard  them  only  in  the  light  of 
their  capacity  to  work.  I  think  that  is  the  main  consid- 
eration which  actuates  the  American  people  in  resisting 
coolie  immigration. 

56 


The  coolie  cannot  be  assimilated  into  the  mass  of  the 
American  people.  The  American  people  coosist  largely 
of  the  Caucasian  race.  They  assimilate;  the  people  of 
Europe  assimilate,  and  as  a  result  there  is  a  strong  and  a 
composite  race  known  as  the  American  people,  or,  as 
Bayard  Taylor  says  is  his  National  Ode: 

"In  one  strong  race  all  races  here  unite; 
Tongues  melt  in  hers,  hereditary  foemen 
Forget  their  sword  and  slogan,  kith  and  clan; 

'Twas  glory  once  to  be  a  Koman; 
She  makes  it  glory  now  to  be  a  man ! " 

The  Chinese  are  an  undesirable  immigration  because 
they  are  incapable  of  that  assimilation.  I  do  not  know 
that  it  will  be  seriously  contended  that  they  can  be 
assimilated  and  moulded  into  the  mass  of  the  American 
people,  ready  and  able  to  take  up  the  service  of  citizen- 
ship and  the  family  life,  supporting  schools  and  colleges, 
and  churches  and  theaters,  advancing  the  arts  and 
sciences,  and  mingling  with  us  in  our  political  activities. 
I  do  not  know  that  you,  in  your  minds,  imagine  that  the 
Chinese  in  a  thousand  or  two  thousand  years  would 
ever  be  able  to  arrive  at  that  stage  by  which  we  could 
regard  them  as  fellow-citizens,  the  same  in  mind  and 
the  same  in  thought.  We  know  that  when  the  Euro- 
peans assimilate  it  is  only  a  generation,  or  at  most  two 
generations,  which  must  pass  in  order  to  wipe  out,  as  it 
were,  and  obliterate  the  original  identity  of  their  fore- 
fathers. 

We  have  lived  with  the  Chinese  in  peace  and  quiet 
ever  since  the  enactment  of  the  first  exclusion  law  in 
1882.  That  is  twenty  years.  They  remain  the  same 
unchanged  people,  showing  the  same  racial  character- 
istics, born  of  centuries  and  centuries  of  isolation,  be- 

57 


cause  they  are  the  oldest  and  most  ancient  of  people, 
and,  to  quote  Joaquin  Miller,  of  an  "  effete  and  mouldy 
land."  They  have  remained  the  same,  and  resisted  all 
change  and  innovation.  Their  religion,  their  laws,  their 
commerce,  their  teachers,  their  books,  have  remained 
the  same  for  ages  and  ages,  and  no  traveler  or  historian 
can  record  the  time  when  these  things  were  not.  They 
have  never  been  influenced  by  a  civilization  which  has 
grown  up  and  been  developed  all  around  them.  They 
are  a  hermit  nation,  and  they  have  been  inured  for  cen- 
turies to  those  peculiarities  of  race  which  appeal  to  us 
so  strongly  in  the  Chinatown  of  San  Francisco;  making 
them  here,  after  thirty-five  years  of  residence,  still  a 
permanently  foreign  element.  * 

If  you  attempt  to  introduce  a  foreign  element  into  the 
body  or  into  the  body  politic,  it  yields  not  nourishment, 
it  only  obstructs  the  system;  it  is  inimical  to  health  and 
ultimately  will  accomplish  dissolution  and  death. 

We  must  assimilate  the  Chinese,  or  we  must  bar  them 
from  admission  to  this  state.  I  claim  that  they  are  non- 
assimilative.  I  claim  that  it  has  been  demonstrated  by 
our  own  experience  with  them  and  has  been  demon- 
strated by  the  experience  of  other  nations.  In  spite  of 
their  living  in  the  civilized  world,  they  retain  their 
original  concepts  of  religion,  their  ideas  of  morality  and 
their  social  forms.  If  the  Chinese  were  an  assimilative 
race,  I  do  not  think  that  anybody  would  be  here  to 
oppose  their  free  coming  to  this  country.  I  think  if  we 
believed  that  two  or  three  generations  might  probably 
cause  them  to  be  assimilated,  by  intermingling  with  us, 
that  we  would  look  fpr  a  modification  of  the  exclusion 
law,  and  allow  them  to  come  in  small  numbers  in  order 
that  the  experiment  might  be  made. 

58 


But  the  experiment  has  been  made  in  the  State  of 
California.  There  has  been  in  this  state  no  law  forbid- 
ding the  intermarriage  of  whites  and  Chinese  ever  since 
the  beginning  of  the  existence  of  the  state,  until  this 
last  year,  when  the  legislature  enacted  a  law  adding  the 
word  "Mongolian,,  to  that  of  u Negro  and  mulatto," 
forbidding  intermarriage;  and  notwithstanding  that  fact, 
the  very  few  marriages  that  have  taken  place  have 
attracted  no  attention.  I  am  informed  by  the  Police 
Department  and  by  the  Chinese  Mission,  with  whom  I 
have  communicated,  that  where  there  were  a  few  of  such 
marriages,  the  issue  thereof  have  invariably  been 
degenerates. 

So  we  are  confronted  by  a  question  of  assimilation. 
Is  it  possible  for  them  to  assimilate,  physically?  I  say 
it  is  practically  impossible,  and  it  has  been  so  demon- 
strated. Is  it  possible  for  them  politically  and  socially 
to  assimiliate  with  our  people  and  become  a  part  of  a 
a  homogeneous  population?  In  matters  of  thought,  in 
the  appreciation  of  the  blessings  of  liberty,  in  adherence 
to  our  institutions,  in  an  allegiance  to  our  country,  in  a 
devotion  to  the  flag,  fighting  its  battles,  and  advancing 
its  interests,  we  know  that  the  Chinese  are  indifferent; 
but  their  simple  purpose  is  to  work,  work  and  inces- 
santly work,  respecting  no  holidays,  having  no  limita- 
tions of  time,  having  no  family  life;  nothing  but 
ceaseless  and  unremitting  toil.  And  against  the  com- 
petition of  men  coming  here  without  wives,  appetites  or 
aspirations,  having  none  of  the  burdens  which  pertain 
to  our  western  civilization,  neither  civic  duty  nor  family 
life,  American  progress  is  impossible.  The  Chinese 
subsist  on  very  little,  they  sleep  anywhere,  their  stand- 
ard of  living  is  entirely  different  from  ours,  and  thus 

59 


equipped,  they  are  industrially  formidable,  and  against 
them  our  men  cannot  compete  and  survive.  Our  men 
will,  if  the  Chinese  are  admitted  freely,  endeavor,  if 
you  please,  to  meet  that  competition,  and  down  will  go 
the  standard  of  living  until  it  will  reach  a  point  when, 
in  obedience  to  the  law  of  self-preservation,  as  history 
teaches,  the  people  would  rise  up,  and  by  extra-legal 
methods  resist  the  invasion. 

It  is  the  part  of  statesmanship,  not  only  to  act  wisely 
in  time,  to  see  the  dangers,  but  to  take  the  steps  which 
would  save  us  from  such  a  consequence. 

You  cannot  imagine  in  this  country,  which,  after  all, 
is  ruled  by  majorities,  the  people  submitting  for  a 
moment  to  the  free  coming  of  an  immigration  which  is 
contract  and  pauper  in  character,  which  is  below  the 
standard  of  their  life,  which  is  non-assimilative.  I  can 
not  imagine  that  the  people  would  submit  to  it  for  any 
long  period  of  time.  And,  knowing  that  to  be  true,  and 
knowing  the  basis  of  their  opposition  to  be  reasonable 
and  just,  it  would  be  certainly  unwise  on  the  part  of 
Congress  not  to  re-enact  the  law.  Congress  probably 
will  re-enact  the  law.  It  will  do  so  for  the  reasons  I 
have  stated.  It  will  do  so  because  it  is  the  settled 
policy  of  the  country,  and  because  China  has  accepted 
that  policy,  and  declared,  in  the  treaty  of  1894,  that  on 
account  of  the  antagonism,  as  strong  now  as  then, 
"  China  desires  to  prevent  the  emigration  of  its  citizens 
to  the  United  States." 

We  are  quite  willing  to  trade  with  China,  and  we 
would  exceedingly  regret  that  our  domestic  policy  of 
exclusion  should  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  our 
trade.  But  if  it  comes  to  be  a  matter  of  choice  between 
trade  and  the  free  admission  of  coolies,  we  would  cer- 

60 


tainly  sacrifice  our  trade.  But  the  statistics  show  that 
our  trade  has  increased  during  the  period  of  exclusion. 
In  1880  our  imports  and  exports  aggregated,  according 
to  a  recent  consular  report  by  Consul-General  Goode- 
now,  twenty-eight  millions  of  dollars.  Today  they 
stand  at  thirty-eight  millions.  We  rank  second  only  to 
England,  and  we  sell  more  goods'than  any  other  country 
to  China.  Our  commercial  relations  with  her  are  en- 
tirely satisfactory,  and  do  not  seem  to  be  affected,  except 
advantageously,  by  the  exclusion  of  the  Chinese. 

Our  diplomatic  relations  are  most  friendly,  and  may 
they  continue  to  remain  so.  We  have  been  of  some 
service  to*China,  which  is  not  unappreciated.  We  have 
in  the  past  been  able  by  our  influence  to  arrest  the  traffic 
in  opium,  which  has  been  such  a  blight  to  that  people — a 
vice  which  they  have  carried  with  them  in  their  migra- 
tions. We  have  done  everything  that  a  civilized  nation 
might  do  and  yet  preserve  the  dignity  of  its  own  labor 
and  safeguard  its  own  institutions. 

America  has  dignified  labor,  and  must  preserve  its 
dignity.  America  has  attracted  people  here  from 
Europe  who  are  an  assimilative  people,  and  has  given 
them  land  to  culivate  and  work  to  perform,  which  they 
have  done  with  exceeding  skill;  it  has  conferred  upon 
them  rights,  and  it  is  the  moral  and  bounden  duty  of 
the  country  to  protect  them  in  those  rights  if  they  are 
invaded,  and  we  claim  that  they  are  invaded,  by  tolerat- 
ing the  coming  of  a  servile  and  non-assimilative  race. 

There  is  one  point  more,  and  that  is  all  in  the  con- 
sideration of  this  question  that  I  care  to  speak  of  now. 
Whether  we  regard  it  as  a  race,  labor  or  as  a  political 
question,  there  is  but  one  great  thought  which  should 
govern  all  patriotic  citizens,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  we 

61 


are  a  republic,  governed  by  majorities,  and  anything 
that  would  tend  to  lower  the  standard  of  our  popula- 
tion would  strike  a  blow  at  the  perpetuity  of  our  gov- 
ernment and  the  success  of  its  republican  institutions. 
The  presence  of  the  Chinese  and  their  free  coming  would 
unfailingly  lower  the  standard  of  the  population,  and 
though  we  are  urged  by  considerations  of  commerce  and 
trade  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  all  peoples,  we 
cannot  in  this  matter  be  moved;  we  must  not  look  upon 
the  case  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  the  great  Amer- 
ican question,  in  which  our  institutions  are  involved,  in 
which  our  political  integrity  is  involved,  and  in  which 
the  civilization  which  has  been  builded  by  the  heroes 
and  martyrs  of  the  past  is  involved,  and  whose  preser- 
vation for  future  generations  is  at  stake.  It  shall  not 
be  allowed  to  pass  away,  nor  to  deteriorate  by  contact 
with  any  inferior  race  or  by  the  infiltration  of  Asiatic 
coolies.  It  cannot  be  done.  It  is  contrary  to  those 
principles  of  self-preservation  and  patriotism  which  are 
imbedded  in  us,  and  which,  when  we  once  understand 
them,  we  shall  assert. 

You,  members  of  the  Unitarian  Club,  merchants  and 
professional  gentlemen,  I  do  not  believe  feel  the  pinch 
of  necessity.  The  pressure  of  Chinese  immigration  falls 
immediately  upon  the  working  classes  of  society,  in 
every  trade  and  vocation,  because  Chinese  are  skilled 
and  capable  of  being  skilled,  although  the  majority  of 
them  be  common  laborers;  but  you  will  feel,  however 
indirectly,  that  pinch  of  necessity  just  as  soon  as  the 
burden  falls  fairly  upon  labor.  Labor  is  the  foundation 
upon  which  our  American  superstructure  is  built.  The 
common  people  of  this  country  stand  for  the  govern 
ment,  as  well  as  for  the  industrial  fabric,  and  it  is  our 
patriotic  duty  to  protect  them.     (Applause.) 

62 


VALEDICTORY  ADDRESS 


To  the  Honorable  the  Board  of  Supervisors: 

It  has  been  customary  for  the  retiring  Mayor  to 
make  a  brief  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  munici- 
pality during  his  administration.  As  I  have  sent  mes- 
sages to  the  Board  of  Supervisors  on  the  occasion  of 
my  inauguration  on  three  different  occasions,  I  will 
now  confine  myself  more  particularly  to  the  last  two 
years,  under  the  charter  government. 

When,  five  years  ago,  I  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
office  of  Mayor,  and  for  three  years  thereafter,  the  city 
lived  under  what  was  known  as  the  Consolidation  Act, 
which  consisted  of  various  statutes  which  had  been 
passed  from  time  to  time  by  the  Legislature,  and  the 
Governor  of  the  State  exercised  certain  powers  over  the 
municipality  in  the  appointment  of  boards  or  commis- 
sions. Every  Legislature  interfered  with  the  munici- 
pality, creating  new  offices  and  inflicting  upon  our 
people  unreasonable  and  unjust  legislation.  On  four 
different  occasions  our  citizens  had  tried  to  throw  off  the 
legislative  yoke  by  proposing  freeholders'  charters, 
which,  for  inherent  defects,  failed  at  the  polls.  I  had 
the  honor,  immediately  after  my  first  election,  to 
appoint  a  convention  of  one  hundred,  a  thoroughly  rep- 
resentative body,  which  proceeded  to  draft  an  advisory 
charter  and  to  nominate  a  board  of  freeholders  to  give 
it  legal  expression. 


The  nominees  of  this  convention  were  elected,  and 
the  charter  they  framed,  after  having  been  voted  on  by 
the  people  and  approved  by  the  Legislature,  became, 
on  the  8th  day  of  January,  1900,  the  organic  law  of  the 
city.  From  that  moment  San  Francisco  was  practically 
exempt  from  legislative  interference  in  its  municipal 
affairs  and  became  a  free  city. 

That  charter  has  now  had  a  trial  of  two  years. 
The  outgoing  administration  has  had,  therefore,  the 
responsibility  of  inaugurating  it  and  defending  its  pro- 
visions when  attacked  in  the  courts,  of  interpreting  it 
in  daily  practice  and  of  establishing  precedents.  While 
the  charter  is  not  free  from  defects  common  to  all 
human  documents,  which  may  now  be  cured  by  amend- 
ment if  necessary,  still  it  has  proved  its  worth  and  con- 
ferred innumerable  benefits  upon  the  city.  It  has,  as 
we  have  seen,  freed  us  from  the  Legislature  and  from 
interference  by  the  Governor.  Many  of  the  other  great 
cities  of  the  country  still  look  to  the  Legislature  for 
their  laws,  whereas  San  Francisco  has  advanced  beyond 
that  stage.  It  has  introduced  a  civil  service  system, 
which  applies,  under  the  decision  of  the  courts,  to  all 
offices,  boards  and  commissions,  except  the  Sheriff, 
Treasurer,  County  Clerk,  Recorder,  Coroner  and  As- 
sessor, which  are  called  county  offices. 

This  condition  arose  from  the  failure  of  constitutional 
amendment  8J,  article  xi,  to  mention,  in  addition  to 
"  terms  and  compensation  "  therein  expressed,  the  word 
"qualification."  That  is  to  say,  according  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  it  was  not  competent  for  the  charter  to 
require  the  subordinates  of  county  officers  to  have  cer- 
tain qualifications,  to  be  demonstrated  by  civil  service 
examination.     This  was  unfortunate,  and  can  be  reme- 

64 


died  by  proposing  a  constitutional  amendment,  which 
no  doubt  will  be  done.  The  civil  service  commissioners 
have  industriously  and  conscientiously  classified  the  civil 
service  of  the  city  and  have  held  numerous  examina- 
tions, as  a  result  of  which  they  have  prepared  eligible 
lists  and  certified  clerks  for  the  several  offices  and  de- 
partments amenable  to  the  law. 

There  are  in  the  city  government,  in  round  numbers, 
3400  positions,  and  over  60  per  cent  of  this  number  is 
subject  to  civil  service.  If  we  include  1064  employes 
of  the  school  department,  who  really  hold  under  a 
civil  service  of  their  own,  the  percentage  would  be  about 
90  per  cent.  It  is  accepted  by  all  disinterested  officials 
who  have  had  experience  with  the  system,  that  it  not 
only  promotes  efficiency  but  protects  a  public  officer, 
who  with  a  trained  staff  enters  upon  the  discharge  of  his 
duties.  It  confers  an  equal  benefit  upon  the  men  who 
are  employed  and  who  are  protected,  so  long  as  they 
faithfully  perform  their  work.  I  trust  that  this  reform 
which  has  been  so  successfully  begun,  will  be  protected 
by  the  incoming  administration  against  the  assaults  of 
its  enemies. 

The  charter  has  next  in  order  provided  an  economical 
and  progressive  government.  Under  the  old  law,  there 
was  practically  no  limit  upon  taxation,  and  the  rate  for 
state  and  city  and  county  purposes  has  within  the  past 
seven  years  been  as  high  as  $2.15,  against  a  rate  this 
year  of  $1,556,  of  which  $1,076  is  for  city  purposes  and 
the  balance  for  state.  The  charter  limits  taxation  to 
one  dollar  for  all  city  purposes,  except  provisions  for 
the  maintenance  of  parks  and  for  interest  and  sinking 
funds.  This  is  an  organic  check  upon  extravagance,  and 
when  once  the  funds  are  apportioned  by  the  budget  they 


are  inviolable  and  can  not  be  diverted  during  the  year 
This  insures  a  paid-up  government,  and  prevents  defi- 
cits at  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year — a  calamity  which 
visited  the  city  perennially  under  the  old  system. 

The  amount  provided  by  the  budget  of  June,  1901, 
for  the  city  was  $5,825,100,  of  which  the  receipts  from 
other  sources  than  taxation  amounted  to  $1,470,100. 
Of  the  revenue  from  other  sources  than  taxation,  the 
principal  items  were  from  the  state  school  fund,  $695,- 
000,  and  from  licenses  $470,000.  In  the  year  of  1898- 
1899,  before  the  charter  took  effect,  the  amount  of 
licenses  collected  was  $505,082.  As  the  charter  abol- 
ished license  taxation  on  mercantile  business,  it  was 
expected  that  there  would  be  a  loss  on  this  item  of 
$100,000,  whereas  it  appears  that  there  is  a  loss  of  but 
$35,000. 

The  first  year  under  the  charter  the  assessment  roll 
was  assumed  to  be  $375,000,000,  and  the  budget  pro- 
vided a  sufficient  sum — $5,146,700 — to  meet  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government  and  allowed  about  $40,000 
for  improvements;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Assessor 
subsequently  returned  a  roll  of  $410,000,000,  and  hence 
for  that  year  there  was  a  large  surplus  unappropriated 
by  the  budget,  which,  under  the  charter  rule,  passed 
into  the  surplus  of  the  following  fiscal  year,  beginning 
July  1,  1901.  With  other  items,  the  surplus  in  the 
general  fund  amounted  to  $297,000. 

Again,  in  the  first  fiscal  year  under  the  charter,  levy 
was  made  for  interest  and  sinking  funds  on  bonds  which 
had  been  voted  by  the  people  but  were  invalidated  by 
the  Supreme  Court.  That  money  was  also  available 
as  surplus,  and  amounted  to  $225,000,  making  approx- 
imately  a   surplus   available    for  this    fiscal   year    of 

66 


$520,000.  The  board  appropriated  from  this  surplus, 
principally  for  street  improvements  and  buildings,  a  sum 
aggregating  $200,000,  and  for  the  payment  of  old  claims 
authorized  by  constitutional  amendment — for  which 
the  city  creditors  had  waited  for  ten  years — the  sum 
of  $292,500.  This  included  payment  of  over  $100,000  to 
the  teachers  of  the  School  Department  for  back  salaries 
unpaid.  So  the  outgoing  administration  may  justly 
claim  that  it  has  redeemed  the  credit  of  the  city,  and 
while  paying  its  debts  is  able  to  provide  for  extensive 
public  improvements,  without  exceeding  the  dollar 
limit  of  taxation. 

The  unusual  sources  of  revenue  for  this  current  fiscal 
year  are  clue,  therefore,  to  the  interest  and  sinking  fund 
accumulation  on  unissued  bonds  and  the  unexpected 
increase  of  last  year's  assessment  roll;  but,  apart  from 
these  considerations,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  reasonable 
to  expect  more  than  $350,000  as  a  surplus  in  excess  of 
the  cost  of  maintaining  the  government,  which  should 
probably  be  devoted  to  public  improvements.  This  is 
shown  in  the  report  of  the  expert  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee, dated  December  19,  1901:  It  is  due  to  the 
assessment  roll  in  excess  of  $375,000,000,  and  to  the 
saving  on  the  hydrant  rate. 

The  credit  of  the  city,  therefore,  is  first-class.  The 
charter  provides  for  a  solvent  government.  No  warrant 
can  be  drawn  except  upon  an  unexhausted  specific 
appropriation.  That  provision  and  the  one- twelfth  lim- 
itation compels  us  to  pay  as  we  go  and  makes  economy 
almost  automatic. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  city,  as  will  be  appar- 
ent from  this  showing,  has  never  been  better.  Its  net 
funded  debt  is  only  $31,000 — a  condition  unparalleled 

67 


among  cities.  It  has  property  in  lands  and  buildings, 
the  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  $29,000,000.  It  is 
therefore  in  a  position  to  improve  its  municipal  equip- 
ment by  issuing  bonds,  which,  as  required  by  law,  shall 
run  for  forty  years  at  a  small  per  cent  interest.  The 
proceeds  will  constitute  the  city's  capital,  which,  when 
invested  in  its  business  of  making  a  model  munici- 
pality, will  come  back  a  hundredfold  in  the  better 
health,  the  greater  prosperity  and  the  increased  num- 
bers of  a  happy  and  contented  people. 

Another  feature  of  the  charter  that  has  worked 
admirably  is  the  separation  of  legislative  and  executive 
functions.  Under  the  charter  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors is  a  legislative  body,  having  no  patronage  in  its 
gift  except  its  own  clerks.  Under  the  Consolidation 
Act,  the  board  appointed  gardeners,  police  court  clerks, 
prosecuting  attorneys,  janitors,  a  fish  and  game  warden 
and  two  fire  commissioners;  and  its  confirmation  was 
required  for  the  appointment  of  the  license  collector 
and  gas  inspector.  Now,  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
is  engaged  exclusively  in  passing  laws  or  ordinances 
for  the  government  of  the  city.  It  raises  the  revenue, 
but  does  not  spend  it.  The  Mayor  appoints  the  admin- 
istrative boards  without  confirmation,  and  the  subordi- 
nates are  taken  from  the  civil  service  lists.  The 
responsibility  which  is  conferred  upon  the  Mayor,  and 
his  power  to  remove  and  appoint,  for  cause,  concentrates 
authority  and  makes  the  government  more  cohesive. 
His  position  is  respectable  and  respected. 

The  Consolidation  Act  divided  the  city  into  twelve 
districts  or  wards.  The  charter  has  obliterated  the 
wards,  and  provided  that  the  Supervisors,  eighteen  in 
number,  shall  be  elected  at  large.     This  has  sensibly 


mproved  the  personnel  of  the  board,  the  conventions 
having  the  whole  city  from  which  to  make  selections. 
I  desire  to  say  that  the  high  reputation  which  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  serving  for  the  last  two  years, 
has  enjoyed  and  the  confidence  with  which  it  was 
regarded  is  a  tribute,  not  only  to  the  character  of  the 
men  who  have  had  the  honor  of  serving  under  the 
charter,  but  to  the  charter  itself.  It  was  the  first  Board 
of  Supervisors  without  rings,  and  it  was  the  first  Board 
of  Supervisors  that  was  practically  ever  re-elected.  The 
abolition  of  the  ward  system  and  the  increase  of  the 
number  of  Supervisors  from  twelve  to  eighteen  has, 
by  practical  experience  of  the  last  two  years,  been  dem- 
onstrated to  be  a  success.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  has 
a  long  list  of  wise  and  beneficent  acts  to  its  credit,  not 
the  least  of  which  is  the  fixing  of  laborers'  wages  and 
reducing  carfare  for  children.  The  City  Attorney  has 
advised  the  board,  in  a  recent  opinion,  that  the  charter 
contemplates  only  the  passage  of  general  laws,  and  dis- 
countenances special  privileges.  So  hereafter  no  special 
privileges  should  be  granted;  but  the  general  ordinances 
should  be  so  amended  as  to  include  any  public  benefit 
which  it  may  be  believed  a  special  privilege  could  confer 
upon  the  city.  No  citizen  should  be  denied,  under  like 
conditions,  a  privilege  which  is  granted  to  another. 

I  believe  that  the  true  meaning  of  the  charter  is  that 
the  Commissioners  are  responsible  to  the  Mayor,  and 
that  he,  as  an  elective  officer,  is  responsible  to  the 
people,  and  that  there  should  be  a  loyal  co-operation 
between  them;  but  that  the  Commissioners  should  be 
allowed  a  wise  discretion  in  putting  policies  into  force 
and  effect,  and  the  Mayor  should  not  interfere,  unless 
there  be  an  abandonment  on  the  part  of  the  Commis- 


sioners  of  the  people's  declared  aud  deliberate  will,  or 
if  they  suffer  flagrant  abuses  to  creep  into  the  adminis- 
tration. The  charter  gives  the  Mayor  the  right  to 
attend  meetings  of  the  Commissioners  and  to  make  sug- 
gestions. Due  weight  should  be  given  to  his  sugges- 
tions, on  account  of  the  importance  of  his  office  and  of 
his  responsibility  to  the  people.  But  within  their  juris- 
diction, the  Boards  or  Commissions  are  independent 
bodies,  whose  members  have  terms  of  office  longer  in 
many  instances  than  that  of  the  Mayor  himself;  they 
are  sworn  to  uphold  the  constitution  and  the  laws,  and 
have  given  bonds  for  the  fidelity  of  themselves  and  of 
their  subordinates.  They  bear  no  such  relation  to  the 
Mayor  as  the  Federal  Cabinet  officers  do  to  the  Presi- 
dent. Cabinet  officers  are  unknown  to  the  constitution, 
whereas  the  Boards  or  Commissions  under  our  munici- 
pal government  are  created  and  derive  their  authority 
from  our  fundamental  law. 

The  charter  has  been  interpreted  in  many  important 
particulars.     The  following  comprise  the  leading  cases: 

The  first  suits  instituted  in  reference  to  the  charter 
were  those  entitled  Fragley  vs.  Phelan  and  Martin  vs. 
the  Election  Commissioners,  filed  in  the  Superior  Court 
in  August,  1899. 

Both  of  these  suits  prayed  for  an  injunction  to  re- 
strain the  holding  of  the  first  election  under  the  charter, 
which,  uucler  article  xi  of  that  instrument,  was  fixed 
for  November  5,  1899.  The  contention  in  Fragley  vs. 
Phelan  was  that  the  law  under  which  the  freeholders 
and  charter  elections  were  held — namely,  the  Act  of 
March  31,  1897 — was  unconstitutional,  and  that  the  elec- 
tions were  therefore  of  no  validity.  The  Superior  Court 
and  the  Supreme  Court  sustained  the  Act  in  question 
and  upheld  the  charter  elections. 

70 


The  second  suit,  Martin  vs.  Election  Commissioners, 
was  brought  on  behalf  of  the  county  officers,  so-called, 
who  claimed  that  the  County  Government  Act,  provid- 
ing for  a  four  years'  term  for  county  officers,  was  not 
affected  by  the  charter  provision  reducing  the  term  to 
two  years,  and  that  therefore  no  election  could  be  held 
except  for  municipal  officers,  as  defined  in  the  case  of 
Kahn  vs.  Sutro.  The  Supreme  Court  held,  however, 
that  section  8J  of  article  xi  of  the  constitution,  adopted 
in  1896,  enlarged  the  scope  of  charters  so  that  they 
might  provide  for  the  tenure  and  compensation  of 
county  officers. 

At  the  installation  of  the  first  officers  under  the 
charter,  n  January,  1900,  the  Board  of  Health  refused 
voluntarily  to  surrender  their  offices  to  the  Charter  Board, 
their  contention  being  that  the  exercise  by  them  of 
quarantine  powers  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  city  and 
county  characterized  them  state  officials,  and  that  their 
powers  and  tenure  could  not  be  affected  by  a  munici- 
pal charter.  After  yielding  up  the  office  under  press- 
ure, suit  in  quo  warranto  was  brought  for  their  rein- 
statement, and  decided  adversely  to  them  in  the 
Superior  Court,  and  is  still  pending  on  appeal  in  the 
Supreme  Court. 

George  F.  Maxwell,  for  many  years  Secretary  of  the 
Fire  Commissioners  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  charter, 
was  removed  from  office  by  the  Charter  Commissioners 
and  brought  suit  for  reinstatement,  claiming  that  he 
was  a  part  of  the  fire  department  establishment,  whose 
members  were  expressly  continued  in  their  positions  by 
the  charter.  Judge  Seawell  of  the  Superior  Court  de- 
cided adversely  to  him,  and  the  case  is  how  pending  on 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

71 


In  the  election  contest  of  Sheehan  vs.  Scott  for  the 
office  of  Tax  Collector,  the  .provision  of  the  charter 
requiring  five  years'  residence  in  the  city  and  county 
as  a  qualification  for  that  office  was  upheld  by  Judge 
Sea  well,  and  Scott  held  not  to  be  entitled  to  the  office. 
An  appeal,  which  is  still  pending,  has  stayed  the  en- 
forcement of  this  judgment. 

Two  friendly  suits  were  brought  in  June,  1900,  to 
test  the  validity  of  the  bond  election  held  in  December, 
1899,  under  the  general  law  of  the  state,  authorizing 
cities  to  issue  bonds  for  certain  purposes — the  case  of 
McHugh  vs.  City  involving  the  question  of  the  validity 
of  the  sewer,  schoolhouse  and  hospital  bonds,  and  Fritz 
vs.  City  the  park  extension  bonds.  It  was  held  by  the 
Supreme  Court  that  the  charter  provisions  relative  to 
the  issuing  of  bonds  being  in  conflict  with  the  general 
law,  the  latter  ceased  to  be  in  force  upon  the  going  into 
effect  of  the  charter,  and  that  it  was  therefore  not 
within  the  power  of  the  city  to  proceed  to  issue  bonds 
that  had  been  voted  under  the  superseded  law. 

The  cases  of  Bauer  vs.  Quinn  and  Crowley  vs.  Freud 
were  instituted  in  July,  1900,  to  test  the  validity  of  the 
civil  service  provisions  of  the  charter.  In  the  latter 
case,  an  order  was  issued  by  Judge  Hebbard  restraining 
the  Civil  Service  Commissioners  from  holding  exam- 
inations for  deputies  in  the  so-called  county  offices,  the 
suit  being  intended  merely  to  test  the  law  so  far  as  it 
affected  those  offices. 

In  the  case  of  Bauer  vs.  Quinn,  the  position  was 
taken  that  the  entire  article  on  civil  service  in  the  charter 
was  invalid,  because  it  provided  for  a  tenure  dependent 
upon  good  behavior.  This  case  was  decided  favorably  to 
civil   service   in   the   Superior  Court  by  Judge  Cook, 

72 


which  decision  was  affirmed,  on  appeal,  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  In  the  case  of  Crowley  vs.  Freud,  however,  the 
Supreme  Court,  taking  a  narrow  and  literal  view  of 
section  8J  of  article  xi  of  the  constitution,  held  that  the 
charter  could  provide  merely  for  the  number  and  com- 
pensation of  deputies  in  county  offices,  but  could  not 
control  the  matter  of  their  qualification,  and  could  not, 
therefore,  impose  civil  service  rules. 

The  case  of  Seyden  vs.  Freud,  instituted  on  behalf  of 
deputies  in  the  Tax  Collector's  office,  to  compel  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  to  hold  an  examination  for 
eligibles  for  that  office  in  a  particular  way,  was  decided 
by  Judge  Murasky  favorably  to  the  Commission,  he 
holding  that  its  discretion  could  not  be  controlled. 

In  the  case  of  Wellin  vs.  Wells,  decided  by  Judge 
Seawell  in  March,  1901,  it  was  held  that  the  matter  of 
constructing  and  repairing  school  buildings,  under  plans 
approved  by  the  Board  of  Education,  was  properly 
committed  to  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  under  chapter 
vi,  article  vii  of  the  charter,,/ 

During  the  last  two  years,  the  Mayor  and  Supervi- 
sors have  let  contracts,  after  competition,  for  supplying 
the  several  departments  with  materials,  and  it  is  note- 
worthy that  the  merchants  have,  with  entire  confidence, 
entered  into  the  competition;  that  the  awards  have  been 
made  to  the  lowest  bidders,  and  all  bills  have  been 
promptly  paid. 

Gas  rates  have  been  materially  reduced,  but  competi- 
tion has,  daring  the  year,  forced  rates  in  some  instances 
almost  to  the  cost  of  production.  The  same  is  true  of 
electric  light. 

The  illumination  of  the  streets  by  the  introduction  of 
boulevard  lamps  with  Welsbach  burners  shows  metro- 

73 


politan   progress.     Wires  have  been  laid  underground; 
street  sweepings  have  been  transported  to  the  Park. 

After  a  patient  investigation,  a  valuation  of  approxi- 
mately $23,000,000  was  placed  upon  the  property  of  the 
Spring  Valley  Works,  used  in  supplying  the  city  with 
water,  and  after  allowing  operating  expenses  and  taxes, 
a  rate  was  fixed  for  public  and  private  consumption, 
which  was  designed  to  net  the  company  five  per  cent 
upon  this  valuation.  Here  is  a  radical  change.  In  de- 
termining the  company's  revenue  heretofore,  it  was 
customary  to  allow  $60  a  year  for  each  hydrant,  which 
aggregated  $223,000.  By  the  new  method,  adopted  for 
the  first  time  last  February  by  the  Supervisors,  the  value 
of  the  company's  property  was  first  scientifically  de- 
termined, and  upon  it  an  agreed  percentage  allowed. 
Then,  on  that  basis,  it  was  found  that  the  contribution 
of  the  city  and  water  rate  payers  should  be  approxi- 
mately $140,000  less  this  year  than  last,  and  the  question 
before  the  Supervisors  was  whether  to  reduce  the  gen- 
eral rates  by  that  amount  or  to  give  the  city  in  hydrant 
rates  the  whole  benefit  of  the  reduction.  They  adopted 
the  latter  plan,  and  fixed  a  lump  sum,  $80,000,  instead 
of  a  per  hydrant  rate  for  that  service.  This  also,  by 
saving  it  from  hydrant  bills,  gave  the  city,  in  addition 
to  the  surplus,  $140,000  within  the  dollar  limit  for 
public  improvements.  The  water  company  has  not 
collected  any  part  of  this  hydrant  rate  during  the  fiscal 
year  beginning  last  July,  but  is  disputing  the  validity  of 
the  water  order  in  the  courts.  It  would  appear  that  in 
any  event  it  cannot  receive  more  than  the  $80,000  ap- 
propriated this  year  in  the  budget,  for  this  is  the  limit 
of  expenditure;  but  it  is  endeavoring  to  establish  a 
precedent  for  future  years,  and  hence  the  importance  of 

74 


vigorously  defending  the  action,  which  [is  now  in  the 
able  hands  of  the  City  Attorney. 

The  Assessor,  controlling  in  many  respects  the  most 
important  department  of  the  city  government,  has,  by 
the  assessment  of  franchises  and  other  forms  of  personal 
property,  raised  the  assessment  roll  until  it  now  fully 
yields,  within  the  dollar  limit,  ample  funds  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  city  government,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
about  $350,000  for  street  and  other  extraordinary  im- 
provements, thus  justifying  the  dollar  limit,  which  is 
one  of  the  principal  features  of  the  charter.  Our  rev- 
enue will  thus  increase  steadily  with  the  growth  of  the 
city.  For  the  most  part,  all  other  city  officials  have 
during  their  terms  creditably  performed  their  duties. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  has,  during  the  last  two 
years,  laid  many  miles  of  streets,  and  the  character  of 
the  work  has  been  first-class.  Much  money  has  been 
spent  in  the  repair  of  public  buildings,  and  estimates 
have  been  made  for  water,  gas  and  electric  light,  tele- 
phone, street  railway  and  other  plants,  in  compliance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  charter,  preliminary  to  the 
submission  of  the  propositions  to  the  people.  The 
most  pressing  need  is  the  introduction  of  an  abundant 
pure  water  supply  from  the  Sierras,  and  the  initial 
work  has  been  fairly  begun.  It  is  only  now  necessary  for 
the  people  to  authorize  a  bond  issue.  Necessary  public 
improvements  will  also  be  submitted  for  the  approval 
of  the  people,  the  outgoing  Board  of  Supervisors  and 
the  present  Board  of  Public  Works  having  paved  the 
way  for  sewers,  school  buildings,  hospital,  parks  and 
playgrounds. 

It  is  proposed  to  connect  the  Park  with  the  Presidio 
at  Mountain  Lake  Park,  one- half  of  which  is  owned  by 

75 


the  city.  The  city  should  also  acquire  the  strip  of  land, 
a  block  wide,  between  the  Park  and  the  Cliff  House,  in 
order  to  make  a  park  effect  and  prevent  the  disfigure- 
ment of  the  superb  ocean  front,  which  distinguishes  San 
Francisco  among  the  cities  of  the  world. 

The  only  reason  why  the  acquisition  of  the  thirteen 
blocks  to  bring  the  Park  down  to  Market  street,  and 
provide  for  it  a  fitting  entrance,  was  not  resubmitted  to 
the  people  (it  once  having  prevailed)  is  that  it 
was  deemed  expedient  by  the  friends  of  the  measure  to 
let  the  utilities — water,  street  railways,  hospitals,  school- 
houses  and  sewers — be  voted  on  first.  When  that  is 
done,  the  people  should  at  once  be  given  an  opportunity 
to  vote  on  the  panhandle  project.  The  land  is  now 
cheap  and  but  poorly  improved,  if  at  all,  and  delay 
means  additional  cost. 

The  Board  of  Fire  Commissioners,  obedient  to  the 
mandate  of  the  charter,  has  put  that  department  on  a 
fully  paid  basis  and  taken  it  absolutely  out  of  politics. 

The  Board  of  Education  has  introduced  cooking  and 
manual  training  in  the  schools,  which  serves  not  only  a 
useful  purpose  in  inculcating  a  taste  for  mechanical 
work  and  domestic  economy,  but  also  affords  recreation. 
The  department  has  been  greatly  improved  in  efficiency 
and  the  schools  are  now  conducted  in  the  interest  of 
the  children. 

The  Police  Commission  has,  from  the  beginning, 
attracted  considerable  public  attention.  On  account  of 
the  character  of  its  work,  and  its  extensive  discretionary 
powers  under  the  charter  in  granting  and  refusing 
licenses  to  saloons,  attempts  have  been  made  from  time 
to  time,  by  those  who  live  under  the  shadow  of  the  law, 
to  impose  upon  and  browbeat  the  board.    In  the  second 

76 


month  of  my  term  I  was  compelled  to  re-organize  it, 
when  W.  P.  Sullivan,  Jr.,  was  elected  Chief  of  Police. 
This  devoted  officer,  in  spite  of  hostile  and  unjust  criti- 
cism, did  his  whole  duty  with  honor  and  distinction, 
and  finally,  the  burden  being  too  heavy,  gave  up  his 
life. 

There  has  been  no  criticism  reflecting  on  the  integrity 
or  the  courage  of  the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners. 
During  the  recent  wasteful  and  unfortunate  strike,  the 
duty  of  the  police  was  to  uphold  the  law  and  to  see  that 
every  citizen  might  pursue  his  daily  work  without 
molestation.  To  attain  that  end,  they  chose  methods 
which  subjected  them  to  censure  on  the  part  of  many. 
But  calmer  judgment  has  shown  us  that  in  a  time  of 
incipient  riot,  when  open  and  violent  acts  of  lawlessness 
were  of  daily  occurrence,  it  was  necessary  for  the 
police,  their  numbers  being  inadequate  to  patrol  the 
streets,  to  give  escort  to  non-union  men  and  to  keep  the 
highways  clear  for  their  safe  passage,  not  because  they 
favored  them  in  the  industrial  conflict,  but  because  they 
favored,  as  every  good  American  citizen  does,  the  up- 
holding and  the  preservation  of  the  constitution  and 
the  laws. 

It  would  have  been  a  great  satisfaction  for  this 
administration  to  have  settled  the  differences  between 
employer  and  employe,  the  Mayor  and  the  Supervisors 
having  intervened  for  this  purpose,  but  when  negotia- 
tions failed  and  a  physical  conflict  was  precipitated,  it 
was  likewise  a  satisfaction  to  the  administration  and  to 
the  thoughtful  and  patriotic  people  of  this  city  that  the 
law  was  upheld  without  an  appeal,  as  inany  hastily 
requested,  for  state  and  federal  aid.  The  municipality 
proved  sufficient  for  itself. 

77 


By  the  vigilance  of  the  Board  of  Health,  this  city 
was  saved  from  Oriental  infection,  which  visited,  during 
the  last  two  years,  Hong  Kong,  Honolulu,  Sydney  and 
other  Pacific  ports.  In  common  with  other  commissions, 
they  were  criticised  for  doing  their  duty.  The  Federal 
Government,  which  maintains  here  a  National  quaran- 
tine, through  disinterested  experts  of  the  highest 
standing,  has  justified,  in  this  respect,  their  official  acts. 
The  city's  disposition  to  co-operate  with  Washington 
preserved  friendly  relations. 

The  Park  Commission  has  maintained  the  same  high 
average  efficiency,  greatly  improved  the  small  squares 
and  introduced  athletic  sports  in  the  Park.  And,  the 
Election  Commissioners  have  ably  performed  their 
important  functions. 

The  first  administration  under  the  New  Charter  went 
into  office  with  the  purpose  to  serve  the  people  and  the 
people  only.  This  it  has  done.  The  evil  influences  of 
the  past — corrupt  bossism  and  corporation  control — 
were  unknown  to  San  Francisco  during  the  last  two 
years.  Every  measure  was  passed  upon  its  merits,  and 
public  work  was  done  without  scandal.  Harmony 
existed  between  the  legislative  and  the  executive 
branches  of  the  government,  and  I  trust  those  pleasant 
relations  shall  continue  to  remain  between  the  newly 
elected  Board  of  Supervisors  and  the  Mayor. 

I  desire  to  thank  my  colleagues  for  their  unfailing 
courtesy.  Several  of  them  have,  however,  departed  this 
life  amidst  circumstances  of  profound  regret  and  sorrow. 
Supervisors  Helms  and  Duboce,  Coroner  Beverly  C.  Cole, 
Chief  of  Police  William  P.  Sullivan,  Jr.,  Clerk  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  John  A.  Kussell,  President  of  the 
Board  or  Civil  Service  Commissioners  J.  Kichard  Freud, 

78 


Freeholders  Dr.  John  A.  Nightingale,  Jr.,  Joseph 
Britton,  L  R.  Ellert,  Henry  N.  Clement  and  John  C. 
Nobbmann  have  passed  away.  These  men,  who  were  all  so 
interested  iu  the  success  of  the  charter,  departed  without 
witnessing  the  consummation  of  our  work;  but  had  they 
been  spared  to  be  with  us  this  day,  in  common  with  you 
who  remain,  they  would  have  shared  the  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  their  efforts  have  resulted 
in  making  San  Francisco  a  free  city,  equipped  with  a 
model  organic  law,  which  has  been  safely  inaugurated; 
and  that,  to  our  successors  in  office,  we  have  been  able 
to  transmit  a  government  whose  civic  administration, 
while  conspicuously  clean,  has,  we  believe,  at  the  same 
time  been  a  positive  force  for  good,  which  we  trust 
shall  endure. 


/  Cubery  *  Co.,  Printer!,  587  Mission  St.,  8.  F. 


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